Texans’ Kenyon Green ruled out with shoulder injury, Kendrick Green steps in, Will Anderson Jr. questionable with ankle

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Kenyon Green, the Texans’ struggling left offensive guard, injured his left shoulder in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game Thursday night against the New York Jets.

Green injured his shoulder and immediately went to the blue medical tent for evaluation. Then, the former first-round draft pick from Texas A&M, a one-time blue-chip recruit from Atascosita High School, went to the locker room to get more medical attention

Green was replaced in the lineup by backup Kendrick Green, who nearly stepped in for him this week as the Texans contemplated making a change, per league sources.

Now, the decision has been made for them because Kenyon Green is hurt.

Meanwhile, Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr., the AFC Defensive Player of the Month, is questionable to return with an ankle injury. He injured his ankle in the first half, but then went back in the game only to not play at the start of the second half.

Anderson ran on the sideline, testing out before going back into the game in the first half.

Kenyon Green was nearly replaced this week after being benched on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts and replaced by Jarrett Patterson before Patterson suffered a concussion and was ruled out of the game. Green went back in and finished the game.

Kenyon Green was struggling in the first half against the New York Jets’ pressure packages, allowing penetration. While he had one pancake block in an encouraging moment, his overall blocking performance was shaky.

Green had already been put on notice. His blocking must improve, particularly in pass protection, or he will be headed to the bench again.

The Texans’ starting lineup remaining unchanged Thursday night for a road game against the New York Jets. Green got another chance to upgrade his performance and stared his ninth game of the season at left guard after the Texans contemplated making a switch to Kendrick Green this week, according to league sources.

Green llowed seven pressures, one sack, two quarterback hits and had a season-low 21.9 pass blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus analytics, and was benched and replaced by Patterson before being reinserted into the game when Patterson suffered a concussion when his helmet collided with Indianapolis Colts linebacker E.J. Speed’s knee Sunday in a 23-20 win at NRG Stadium. Green went back into the game and eventually his play stabilized in the second half after some words of encouragement from offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

Green had a rough game against the Green Bay Packers, as did center Juice Scruggs. Green had a 29.0 pass blocking grade and allowed one sack, three pressures and two hurries.

Green got into much better shape this offseason after missing his entire second season with a torn labrum. He’s down to 315 pounds, losing roughly 30 pounds. However, he’s still having fundamental blocking issues and his play has declined since arguably the best performance of his career in the season-opener against the Colts when he regularly pancaked defenders and allowed zero pressures or sacks and had a 74.4 pass blocking grade.

For the season, Green has allowed a league-high 33 pressures among all offensive guards. He has yielded five sacks. It hasn’t been the performance the Texans envisioned from him.

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Should Green struggle against a Jets defensive line headlined by disruptive defensive tackle Quinnen Williams (3 1/2 sacks) and defensive end Will McDonald IV (eight sacks), they can always pull him and insert Green.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is taking a positive approach to the Green issue, encouraging him to play better and emphasizing that a 6-2 squad has won with him in the lineup.

“Kenyon has done fine,” Ryans said Tuesday. “Like I said, he had some bad plays. A lot of guys had some bad plays, and everybody is asking about Kenyon and nobody feels worse about this than Kenyon. He knows he has to play better, he will play better and let’s go to work. That is what it is about. It is not about everybody trying to figure out if Kenyon is out. When Kenyon is ready, he will be ready to roll and we won six games with Kenyon and we have to keep going.”

“For me, I go back and I go to the film. You go to the film and you show players what they have done well and the good reps that they have had and just get back to doing that. Kenyon has had a lot of good reps for us, and I expect him to have some good reps for us this Thursday.”

Green, 23, has been accountable for his shortcomings on the field, staying at his locker to discuss the game and answer questions.

“I wasn’t playing well,” Green said. “So, they had to make changes. It’s football. You got ups and downs, so just continue to keep going, keep pushing.

How will Green solidify his position: “Do my job. That’s what I need to do.”

Texans general manager Nick Caserio has invested heavily in the offensive line, including a three-year, $75 million deal for Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, the highest graded pass blocker from the Green Bay setback, $56 million for right tackle Tytus Howard and $36 million for right guard Shaq Mason, a first-round pick for Green and a second-round selection for center Juice Scruggs.

Green has arrived at a crossroads in his career. This was supposed to be his bounce-back season. The Texans opted for Green with the 15th overall pick instead of other available players that have gotten off to fast starts in the NFL, including Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Lindenbaum and safety Kyle Hamilton.

Green had a lengthy conversation with Slowik during which he received encouragement to keep pushing: “Just telling me to keep being me, just keep getting better and just keep fighting.”

Texans at crossroads with pass protection crisis: ‘Can’t let one game define you, utmost respect and trust in my line’

Read more on the Texans:

• ‘I believe in Tank, I have all the faith in Tank,’ Texans want to get Tank Dell more involved after zero-catch game
• How ‘everything is on the table’ for Texans after pass protection meltdown, Laremy Tunsil emphasizes bigger picture
• ‘It’s not good enough,’ Texans’ banged-up defense played well, but can’t get one final stop in loss to Packers
• ‘I’m never the bigger person,’ tempers flare between Texans’ Stefon Diggs and Packers, Jaire Alexander
• Best in class: Texans’ C.J. Stroud, Packers’ Jordan Love meet for first time in battle of talented quarterbacks, friends
• ‘I’m ready for the ball,’ Texans corner D’Angelo Ross reflects on first NFL start, ‘challenge’ of Packers’ Jordan Love

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.