Texans Get Pitre and Al-Shaair Back at Full Practice, but Blankenship and Montgomery Miss Thursday Again
Two defensive starters are trending toward playing Sunday at the Chargers: Jalen Pitre and Azeez Al-Shaair were full participants at Thursday's practice. Two others are not: Reed Blankenship missed a fifth straight practice, and David Montgomery is set to miss a third straight game.
The Houston Texans' Thursday injury report - the second of three this week, as reported by Sports Illustrated from the team's release - brought the defense good news and the offense none. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (groin) and safety Jalen Pitre (shoulder) were full participants, as were tight end Brevin Jordan, and offensive tackles Braden Smith and Blake Fisher. The only two Texans who did not practice were safety Reed Blankenship (concussion and hand) and running back David Montgomery (groin).
Pitre's return is the headline. He has been sidelined since suffering an AC joint sprain in his shoulder against Tennessee in Week 5, and Thursday's full practice puts the starting nickel on track to play Sunday for the first time since. Al-Shaair, the Pro Bowl linebacker, has worked back from the lingering groin injury that kept him out of the Week 4 game against Dallas. On the other side of the ledger, Blankenship has now missed five straight practices and is trending toward a second straight absence, and head coach DeMeco Ryans said Wednesday that Montgomery will miss his third straight game - leaving Woody Marks as the lead back, with Dare Ogunbowale and the newly signed Emari Demercado behind him, per SI's report.
The Chargers' Thursday report, published by the team, was longer. Receiver Brenen Thompson and Kendall Williamson did not practice; Khalil Mack was a full participant after a rest day; cornerback Deane Leonard returned to limited work after missing Wednesday with a concussion; tight end David Njoku (fibula) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (pectoral) were limited for a second straight day after their practice windows opened Wednesday; and guard Kayode Awosika, out since Week 2 with a fibula injury, was limited again, as were Donte Jackson and Rodney Shelley, while Daiyan Henley and Bud Dupree practiced in full.
Houston (2-5) comes off its bye week to face Los Angeles (0-7) on Sunday at SoFi Stadium, with kickoff at 1:05 p.m. Pacific, 3:05 p.m. Central, on CBS. Friday's final injury report will carry the official game statuses; on Thursday's evidence, the Texans' defense gets two starters back for the trip, and its backfield and secondary depth get tested again.
