The Texans confirmed that neither safety Ed Reed nor running back Arian Foster will be playing for them again this season.
The reasons for their absences are very different. Reed has been released a couple of days after saying that the Texans were outcoached by the Cardinals in Sunday’s loss. Reed was free to make such observations because he spent most of the day watching from the bench as the Texans sharply cut his playing time in recent weeks.
Foster is headed to injured reserve with a back injury that will require surgery. It’s the first time Foster has wound up on injured reserve in his career and the move ends a year plagued by a variety of injuries that may be related to the cumulative impact of Foster’s heavy workload over the last few seasons.
Ben Tate will be the next man up, although he’s playing with four broken ribs that could lead to roles for Dennis Johnson, Deji Karim and Ray Graham in the offense before the year is out.
The Texans didn’t announce who would fill the two open spots on the roster.
