The Texans may have expected a softer draw in Week 4, but that picture changed fast.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported there is “a chance” that Joey Porter Jr. will make his Cowboys debut Sunday against Houston, just days after Dallas acquired the cornerback from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday night for a future second-round pick and a sixth-round pick.
There is “a chance” that new Cowboys CB Joey Porter will make his Dallas debut Sunday vs. the Texans, per league source. The Cowboys are going to work to get him ready for Sunday, and need him with their secondary depleted by injury.Porter could go from being ruled out for… pic.twitter.com/bOtBa74Md8
If Porter is active, that gives Dallas a much more dangerous look on the outside than the Texans may have anticipated when the week began. What once appeared to be a secondary Houston could attack now has a legitimate boundary corner waiting for them.
That matters because Nico Collins is moving toward a return. The Texans wideout was limited in the team’s first practice of the week after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury, and he still has two more practices before his game status is set.
If Collins is back, Porter is the kind of matchup that can make life difficult right away. The two already crossed paths once as starters, in last year’s Wild Card game, when Collins exited in the third quarter with a concussion and finished with three catches for 21 yards on seven targets.
That would put even more weight on Dalton Schultz as a second passing-game option for C.J. Stroud. Schultz exploded for 12 catches and 140 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2, but he was far quieter last week against the Indianapolis Colts, when Foster Moreau played more snaps and Schultz finished with three receptions for 30 yards.
Dallas would also be asking a lot of Porter in his first game with the team. He has not played since the Steelers’ Wild Card loss to the Texans, and he has not taken a snap in this Cowboys defense. Some early rust would not be a surprise.
So if Houston had any week circled as the best time to catch Porter in his first game with a new team, this would be it. If Collins is available, the Texans may need him to help tilt that matchup before Dallas’ newest addition settles in.
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In response, the team moved defensive end Chris Braswell up to the active roster and brought defensive tackle Aaron Graves onto the practice squad. It is a practical bit of roster management, but it also underscores how much the Texans may need from the next men up if they want to keep the interior of their defense from slipping after one of its more productive early contributors went down. [Read more 🡒]
Texans 0-3 Start Has Turned Into A Bigger Blame Fight
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Caserio is under scrutiny for the state of the offensive line, Ryans for the coaching decisions and broader organizational authority that come with his job, and Caley for how the offense has looked under his direction. The criticism is not evenly spread, but the frustration is real enough to raise the question of how much of this start is a roster problem, how much is a coaching problem, and where the Texans should look first if they want to stop the slide. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Rookie Could Return To A Much Bigger Role Than Expected
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Mario Edwards Jr.s season-ending ACL injury thins out the defensive tackle rotation and leaves Houston with less margin for error at a spot that was already not overflowing with options. When McDonald is cleared to return, the Texans may have a tougher decision on their hands than simply easing him back in, because the snaps could be there sooner and in greater volume than anyone anticipated. [Read more 🡒]