Houston Texans NFL Trade and Roster Rumors: Jeff Allen Ruled Out of Thursday's Game Against Bengals
It looks like the Houston Texans will have to make do without Jeff Allen when they take on the Cincinnati Bengals this Thursday.
The team's starting offensive guard has been ruled out of the game due to an ankle injury, and the Houston Chronicle's Aaron Wilson has reported that it's possible Allen may miss a few more games as he recovers from the injury.
With Allen on the sidelines, center Greg Mancz is expected to start in his place.
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"Absolutely I can envision Mancz starting. Mancz hung in there, played tough. Mancz started 16 games for us last year at center, so I certainly already have the visual evidence of him starting for us," Texans head coach Bill O'Brien said, via the team's official website.
Mancz saw some action on both guard spots against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday. He replaced Xavier Su'a-Filo at left guard, then he moved to right guard when Allen got hurt.
Meanwhile, with C.J. Fiedorowicz (on injured reserve), Ryan Griffen and Stephen Anderson all out with concussions, the Texans have decided to promote rookie tight end Evan Baylis from their practice squad to the active roster. Wide receiver Andy Jones was waived to make room for Baylis.
The Texans will have to take an injury-depleted squad to Cincinnati on Thursday, but Jaelen Strong is finally back after serving his one-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, and he's ready for the game against the Bengals.
"I'm just happy to be back, glad to be back with my teammates. It was a long week, but I'm glad to be back and glad to be back at work," Strong said, according to the Houston Chronicle.
"It was hard not being here the whole week, but that's in the past. It's time to move forward and go to work with my guys," he added.
