The Houston Texans were already dealing with a couple of key injuries heading into their Week 6 battle against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On the offensive side of the ball, Houston was forced to go without running back David Montgomery with a groin injury he suffered back in Week 5. Defensively, they were without their versatile nickel/safety Jalen Pitre, who suffered a shoulder injury in that same game.
And it turns out, after the events of the Texans' Week 6 game in London against Jacksonville, the secondary is dealing with another injury that could lead to an absence this weekend facing the New York Giants.
Reed Blankenship in Concussion Protocol, Says DeMeco Ryans
According to DeMeco Ryans in his Monday press conference, Texans safety Reed Blankenship is in the concussion protocol after leaving in the middle of Houston's Week 6 game against the Jaguars.
Ryans did also have some good news on the status of Pro Bowl linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, who left in the middle of the game with a groin injury, but would eventually return and be described as "fine" heading into Week 7.
Being without Blankenship, though, is a notable loss for this Texans defense, who signed the veteran safety to be a weekly starter in the back-end of their secondary, and he's continued to fill that role since the season started.
While Blankenship's play has been up-and-down overall, he's combined for 45 tackles, three passes defended, one tackle for loss, and one interception in the six games he's played this season. And if without him in the secondary for any stretch of time, Houston will be forced to make another pivot for their starting defense as they already had to do last weekend without Pitre.
We won't know for certain if this Texans secondary will be without Blankenship heading into Week 7, though the concussion protocol for any player can tend to result in at least a one-game absence. So his status will be one to monitor over the course of this week at practice.
Who Could Step Up Without Reed Blankenship?
If Blankenship is forced to miss a game, the most obvious fill-in Houston could call up as their second safety next to Calen Bullock is veteran safety M.J. Stewart.
The 32-year-old is officially healthy after missing the first four games of the season due to a quad injury, but has appeared in the Texans' last two games with three total tackles. games with three total tackles.
Stewart was a frequent starter for the Texans in 2025 before he went down with what would be a season-ending quad injury, ultimately playing in nine games while starting in four of them for 25 tackles and two passes defended.
We'll certainly know more about the defensive plans for Houston once we get closer to Week 7's kickoff against the Giants. However, don't be surprised if the Texans are forced to be without both Blankenship and Pitre in their secondary as they were down the stretch in their last game against Jacksonville.
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