HOUSTON — Houston Texans’ wide receiver Danny Amendola may have played his final game of the season.
According to Brooks Kubena of the Houston Chronicle, Amendola could miss up to four weeks following arthroscopic surgery on his knee to repair a torn meniscus on Tuesday.
Amendola sustained the knee injury during the Texans’ 21-14 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, and with the team sitting at 2-9 with six games left, it could be in his best interest to call it a season.
In Amendola’s absence, the Texans will likely fill his void with Chris Moore.
When Amendola missed four consecutive games earlier in the season due to a hamstring injury, Moore replaced the injured receiver in the lineup and had established himself as an essential part of the Texans’ passing game.
“He does a great job out there when we ask him to fill in — he’s come in and made plays for us,” offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said in October. “Even going back to the preseason, he made some big plays for us in the Dallas game, he made a big catch for us in the Tampa game.”
“He’s a guy who has produced at the NFL level and we are looking forward for him continuing to grow in this offense.”
Moore recorded nine catches on 10 targets for 123 yards in 102 offensive snaps. His best game of the season came during the Texans’ 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots, where he registered a career-best 109 yards and completed all five of his targets.
But following Amendola’s return, Moore experienced a decline in his production by receiving only 58 offensive snaps over the previous four games.
Prior to his early contributions in the wake of Amendola’s first injury, Moore was designated to the Texans practice squad at the start of the season.
It was the first time in Moore’s career he was designated to the practice squad after the Baltimore Ravens drafted the Cincinnati prodigy in the 4th round (No. 107th overall) of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Before signing a one-year contract with the Texans, Moore played his first four seasons with the Ravens, recording 511 yards on 47 catches and four touchdowns.