The Houston Texans have quietly placed another linebacker on injured reserve heading into Week 3's matchup against the Indianapolis Colts .
According to an announcement from the Texans, the team has placed linebacker Jake Hummel on injured reserve, who's been dealing with a lingering groin issue dating back to last week's game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals .
Hummel has been a DNP in practice for that groin injury since the start of last week's practice, thus keeping him out for six straight team sessions.
We had already known from the Texans' Friday injury report that Hummel was due to be out for at least one more game, but now that he's officially on injured reserve, he'll be on the sidelines for, at a minimum, the next four games of the season.
That means Hummel will be out for this weekend against the Colts, Week 4's home game against the Dallas Cowboys , and the following two road trips facing the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Being without Hummel for the next four weeks effectively means that this Texans linebacker group will have four players on the injured reserve or the PUP list, not even three games deep into the season.
Texans' veteran linebacker E.J. Speed went down with a long-term quad injury during the offseason that could take him out for the entire 2026 season, K.C. Ossai was put on IR before the season, and Henry To'oTo'o would be placed on IR following Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills after he suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter.
Admittidly, the absence of Hummel isn't quite as impactful to the Texans' bottom line compared to the likes of Speed and To'oTo'o.
Both Speed and To'oTo'o are weekly pieces on the defensive side of the ball when fully healthy, while Hummel is more of a special teams contributor who has only played 150 defensive snaps in his career.
At the same time, Hummel's injury makes for yet another hit to this position group that's already seen a fair share of bumps and bruises this season.
Jun 9, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Jake Hummel arrives for the team's minicamp at Houston Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Heading into Week 3's game against the Colts, five linebackers will be healthy and on the 53-man roster, one of whom-Jamal Hill-was a recent practice squad call-up due to the injuries the position group has suffered. The others that remain are Azeez Al-Shaair , Jake Hansen , and their pair of first-year draft picks in Wade Woodaz and Aiden Fisher.
So if you can expect anything through the next four weeks that Hummel is out, seeing that rookie duo Woodaz and Fisher get more snaps their way is a given.
Woodaz is already someone who was trending towards more work in the regular season after a productive July and August, and now has an even better chance to get an increased workload, both on defense and special teams.
Then, there's also a good possibility that the Texans decide to either sign a linebacker from their practice squad onto the 53-man roster, or simply elevate them from Week 4 to Week 6.
One linebacker remains on Houston's practice squad after the move to bring on Hill, and that's former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kenneth Murray .
Knowing that the Texans have already made their elevations for Sunday's game against the Colts, he'll be on the sidelines for the time being, but will be a name to watch who could see a spot on the game day in the weeks ahead.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Texans' LB Room Must Find Answers After Jake Hummel Lands on IR .
