Jalen Pitre’s breakout season has officially reached its end.
The Houston Texans placed the third-year do-it-all defensive back on the injured reserve, thus ending his 2024 campaign.
Houston begins its three-game stretch in 11 days without two of its best defenders starting Sunday against the Miami Dolphins.
“Losing a great player like Jalen is a blow,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said Thursday. “But we feel confident in the guys that we can step up and make some plays.”
Pitre, who suffered a pectoral injury during the second quarter of Week 12’s loss against the Tennessee Titans, knew his season could be over entering the bye week but wanted a second opinion from medical experts. The testing confirmed that immediate surgery would be the best course moving forward.
We have placed Jalen Pitre on the Reserve/Injured list. pic.twitter.com/iJEVPNh3OL
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 13, 2024
Back at his natural nickel position, Pitre had transformed into one of the team’s most important defensive players. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans loved his aggressive play style against the run and often used him in the box to blitz.
“Being around the ball, causing interceptions, forcing fumbles, he’s just been a really active, a very instinctive player for us,” Ryans said earlier this month. “He’s been all over the field, and he’s made a lot of plays for us.
In 12 games, Pitre totaled 65 tackles, six tackles for loss, an interception and a career-high eight pass deflections.
Pitre’s loss is a blow, but so is the departure of Azeez Al-Shaair. The middle linebacker is serving a three-game ban for his late hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and will not return to the lineup until Week 18’s season finale against the Tennessee Titans.
The good news? Houston is expected to have back Christian Harris, who was cleared to practice earlier this week. Harris, who finished with 101 tackles in 2023, missed the first 14 games due to a lingering calf injury suffered in training camp.
