The Houston Texans announced their Week 7 inactives about an hour before their matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. Five players won’t see the field for Houston in the battle to decide the AFC’s worst team, with three defenders and two offensive players tapped to ride the bench against Las Vegas.
Buy Texans TicketsToday's inactives for #HOUvsLV. pic.twitter.com/feaYqVzLiE
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 23, 2022
Among the players who will not participate is offensive lineman Austin Deculus, who was listed as questionable on the Texans’ injury report heading into this game. The others were all part of the team’s practice sessions in preparation for the Raiders but will have to wait another week to see the field.
On offense, Deculus will be joined by receiver Tyler Johnson on the bench. Johnson is a bit of a wildcard in Houston’s offense anyway and was unlikely to make much of an impact for the team in the effort.
Linebacker Jake Hansen, defensive back Issac Yiadom, and defensive lineman Demone Harris will all be inactive for the defense and are sure to be eager to get back to action next week. Hansen is a casualty of rookie Christian Harris’ activation off injured reserve this week and is to be considered the next man up in the Texans’ linebacker corps.
Yiadom is a special teams contributor who has only seen the field for a handful of defensive snaps this season, while the lineman Harris was a key fixture of Houston’s Week 1 tie with the Indianapolis Colts when he recorded two tackles.
With these moves, Houston has made it clear which players they think will give them the best chance to win this week. Victory in this matchup will decide which of the two teams will be considered the AFC’s worst team by record, so the personnel decisions made on Sunday are sure to have implications for the game’s outcome.