The Houston Texans will be almost completely healthy for their wild card match with the Cleveland Browns this afternoon. Five players were ruled inactive, but none were a surprise after the week of practice.
Defensive end Jerry Hughes was ruled out earlier this week, but Will Anderson Jr. and Jonathan Greenard – who were both questionable – are active for the game. The other inactive players are quarterback Case Keenum, guard Nick Broeker, tight end Eric Saubert and defensive tackle Teair Tart.
Inactives for #CLEvsHOU ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Ig5ADGM3NN
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 13, 2024
The Browns were already going to be down their starting kicker and third-string wide receiver in this game after the team ruled out Dustin Hopkins and Cedric Tillman earlier this week. Jeff Diskel, who started Week 18 and was named Joe Flacco’s backup for this game, was ruled inactive as the team’s emergency third quarterback. That means P.J. Walker is actually the team’s QB2 for the game.
Running back Pierre Strong, cornerback Kahlef Hailassie and center Luke Wypler are also not active for the game.
our inactives for today's game pic.twitter.com/hcqzS4cJDZ
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) January 13, 2024
The biggest surprise off of the Browns’ inactive list is cornerback Denzel Ward, who will suit up despite tweaking his knee in practice this week. He and fellow cornerbacks Martin Emerson and Greg Newsome II led the NFL’s top secondary unit this season.
That could be troublesome for C.J. Stroud, but the Texans will also have an almost-full stable of pass-catchers with Noah Brown and Robert Woods healthy enough to play. They’ll join Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz as Stroud’s primary targets today.
