The Houston Texans struggled with injuries as far back as August when they found out two 2022 offensive line starters would miss the season. Former starting center Scott Quessenberry tore his ACL on Aug. 3, and then first-round pick Kenyon Green suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
Houston’s injury luck didn’t improve in the regular season as the Texans led the league in injuries to significant players, according to the adjusted games lost metric (AGL) from FTN Fantasy.
Despite the rash of injuries, Houston finished 10-7, won the AFC South and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Texans then beat the Cleveland Browns, who also had several injuries of their own, in the wild-card round.
FTN Fantasy charted the AGL for each team and found that injuries declined in 2023. However, the Texans did not have that luxury — especially on the offensive line.
Houston set a new record with 82.1 AGL, which surpassed the previous record set by the Los Angeles Rams in 2022. The Texans shuffled constantly throughout the regular season, starting seven different offensive line combinations. No group up front played more than four consecutive games together.
Texans right guard Shaq Mason was the only lineman to play all 17 regular season games. Green, tackle Tytus Howard, and rookie linemen Jarrett Patterson and Juice Scruggs each accounted for 10 AGL.
The lack of continuity up front likely contributed to the running game struggles. Houston averaged 3.7 yards per carry, tied with the Las Vegas Raiders for fourth-worst in the league. The Texans’ pass blocking was slightly better, with 47 sacks surrendered — just outside the bottom-10 in the league.
The injury bug also bit Houston’s defensive back room. Eric Murray, Jimmie Ward, Tavierre Thomas and Derek Stingley combined to account for 33.4 AGL. General manager Nick Caserio made savvy moves on the waiver wire, like signing safety DeAndre Houston-Carson to plug the holes caused by injury.
Houston receivers accounted for 17.2 AGL, the fifth-most in the league. Noah Brown and rookie Tank Dell were the biggest contributors to this metric.
Brown, who signed in 2023, was hampered by a multitude of injuries throughout the regular season as well and ended the year on injured reserve with a shoulder injury he suffered in the wild-card round. Dell sustained a broken fibula in the Texans’ Week 13 victory over the Denver Broncos and missed the rest of the season.
Don’t forget about quarterback C.J. Stroud, either. His two-game absence from a concussion accounted for 2.3 AGL.
In total, the Texans collected 159.1 AGL — 30 more than the New England Patriot, who finished with the second-most significant injuries. Houston’s offense contributed 106.6 AGL, again, 30 more than the second-highest team. New England had the most AGL on defense, with the Texans having the fourth most.
Injuries are extremely volatile, and there is little ability to predict them year over year. Houston finished 2022 with 70.2 AGL, the 14th fewest in the league. Some teams, like the Arizona Cardinals, battled injuries in back-to-back seasons, having the fifth most significant injuries in 2023 and fourth most in 2022.
Conversely, a team like the Kansas City Chiefs have gotten favorable injury luck. They had the fourth fewest AGL in 2022 and the sixth fewest in 2023.
For what it’s worth, Houston’s training staff and room ranked seventh in the NFL Players Association team report cards. Perhaps the Texans will be luckier in 2024.