The Houston Texans had a near-brush with disaster at practice on Saturday, when Pro Bowler and All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. went down with an apparent injury after colliding with a teammate.
Stingley is a key to a Texans defense that ranked first overall and second in scoring during the 2025 regular season.
He was not the only player whose status became a talking point on the day.
Texans Avoid Disaster With Derek Stingley Jr.
GettyDerek Stingley Jr. has been elite since the Houston Texans drafted him.
Stingley shut down Texans practice briefly when he went down during a drill in Saturday’s training camp session.
“Big collision sent Derek Stingley to the ground,” Nico Del Frate posted on X on August 1. “Looked brutal but he got up & walked off after about 30 seconds [hands together/praying emoji].”
Frate included a clip of the moment.
“#Texans All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr., went down in a collision with teammate, looked shaken up, then got up and walked it off. Dodged a bullet,” KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson reported on X on August 1.
“Derek Stingley Jr., got checked out by trainers after catching inadvertent friendly fire from #Texans and resumed practicing. Sting was laughing about it later. All good.”
Stingley and Kamari Lassiter are Pro Bowlers, but there is a significant dropoff from there.
The Texans have veterans Ja’Marcus Ingram, who worked at safety on Saturday, and Super Bowl champion Tremon Smith, as well as second-year third-round pick Jaylin Smith. But losing Stingley or Lassiter would be extremely detrimental.
That is why it was a major relief that Stingley not only got up under his own power, but returned to practice, especially given some of the Texans’ other injury concerns.
Texans Down 3 LBs on Saturday
GettyDeMeco Ryans provided an update on Jake Hansen
The Texans took the practice field without three of their linebackers, underscoring how significant it was that Stingley did not start the cornerback room down a similar path with his scare for head coach DeMeco Ryans and Co.
Jake Hansen suffered an injury in Friday’s session.
“Jake had a ankle injury. We’ll see. He’s kind of week-to-week,” Ryans told reporters on August 1. “So, we’ll see how he progresses throughout camp.”
The Texans have also been without Jake Hummel in back-to-back days, and lost E.J. Speed during the offseason program. Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Speed’s injury is more of a long-term issue.
There have been no updates on Hummel to this point.
Texans Can Remain Mum on Mounting Injuries
GettyJake Hummel was not spotted at practice in training camp on back-to-back days.
Teams are not required to issue daily injury reports during the offseason and training camp, like they are during the regular season.
It could be some time before there is any further clarity on a timeline for Hansen or an update on Hummel. The LBs’ absences are a growing potential issue for the Texans. Their backups behind Azeez Al-Shaair and Henry To’oTo’o are largely inexperienced in their system and/or the NFL.
They can lean into their nickel looks to minimize the need for a third LB.
However, the Texans’ roster is not exactly two-deep across the board, and nickelback Jalen Pitre–who operates a lot like an LB–has his own injury history to be concerned about.
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