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The Houston Texans will be without two of their most important defenders Sunday when they face the Cleveland Browns.
Edge rusher Danielle Hunter and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair were both ruled out in Friday's injury report with hamstring and groin injuries, respectively.
Also ruled out were starting guard Keylan Rutledge, wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Brevin Jordan.
Edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., who also missed practice Friday, was listed as questionable with an ankle injury.
Hunter (hamstring) and Anderson both suffered their injuries in Thursday's practice. Al-Shaair (groin) hasn't practiced all week.
The loss of both Hunter and Al-Shaair is a major blow for the Texans' defense, which was hoping to gain some consistency after a solid performance against the Chargers last week.
The Texans had a franchise-high eight sacks in that game. Hunter, who led the team in sacks in 2025, has four this season, which ranks second on the team. He will likely be replaced in the starting lineup by Jadeveon Clowney. It may also mean more playing time for Logan Hall.
Henry To'oTo'o will likely move over to middle linebacker.
On offense, running back Woody Marks, who missed practice on Thursday, returned to full participation on Friday and has no injury designation. David Montgomery, trying to return from a groin injury, is questionable.
At 3-5, the Texans need a win against the Browns, who are currently 1½ games ahead of them in the AFC. Cleveland is eighth in the conference, and Houston 11th. The top seven make the postseason.
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This article originally published at Houston Texans will be without Danielle Hunter and Azeez Al-Shaair against Cleveland Browns.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/houston-texans-without-danielle-hunter-221500523.html
