The Houston Texans are riding high following their dominant 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend, but rookie phenom C.J. Stroud is going to have to continue his playoff run without one of his top receivers. On Monday, the Texans placed wide receiver Noah Brown on injured reserve, officially ending his season.
Brown had recently dealt with a couple of different injuries. He was listed as questionable to play vs. Cleveland due to a back injury, but did suit up, and then suffered a shoulder injury, knocking him out of the playoff game. He played just five offensive snaps before exiting the game.
In 10 games played this season, Brown caught 33 passes for a career-high 567 yards and two touchdowns. The former Dallas Cowboy had a couple of dominant outings during the regular season, catching six passes for 153 yards and a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9, and then followed that performance up with seven receptions for 172 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals the following week.
Brown, who signed a one-year deal with Houston last offseason, was the Texans' fourth-leading receiver this year. He joins fellow wideout Tank Dell on injured reserve, who fractured his fibula in early December.
With Brown sidelined, expect veteran Robert Woods or rookie Xavier Hutchinson to step up in his place. There's also John Metchie III, who caught three passes for a career-high 44 yards against Cleveland on Saturday.
