Promising young Texans cornerback Derek Stingley will miss the team’s game against the Steelers with a hamstring injury, per multiple reports on Thursday.
Stingley suffered the injury in practice on Wednesday and is hardly the first player in the Texans secondary to get injured. Starting nickel cornerback Tavierre Thomas suffered a broken hand that required surgery. Then, both starting safeties, Jalen Pitre and Jimmie Ward, missed time due to injury. Ward suffered a hip injury before the opener that has kept him out, while Pitre is dealing with a bruised lung.
That is before even getting the offense, where injuries have decimated the offensive line. 80 percent of the team’s starting offensive line, only sans guard Shaq Mason, is injured and has missed time. So, Stingley is just the latest player in a long line of injuries that will likely miss the game against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh will see a much softer Texans team, which is young and progressing, than they would have on paper at the start of the season. Still, rookie C.J. Stroud is playing well despite those tough circumstances, though the team has yet to compete at a high level against other teams due to injuries and inexperience.
The Steelers will head to Houston in about a week and a half to play the Texans. Under new head coach DeMeco Ryans, they hope to resurge and take the AFC South within a few years. For now, that remains difficult with all the injuries piling up on such a young team with little depth.
Stingley’s injury further complicates that matchup for the Texans. But they will miss top Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who is out with a hamstring injury until after the bye week. The team will need a performance from its defense to batten down the hatches and pull off the win.