Texans’ Azeez Al-Shaair active despite illness, Dylan Horton activated, Jerry Hughes to IR, Tytus Howard sidelined

HOUSTON – Texans veteran linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair is active Sunday after being added to the injury report as questionable due to an illness heading into Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills.

Al-Shaair’s status was determined Sunday morning, per a league source.

Texans linebacker Jake Hansen was ruled out due to a painful back injury, the Texans will lean on starting linebacker Henry To’oTo’o. Neville Hewitt is the only linebacker to play any defensive snaps other than To’oTo’o and Al-Shaair and it was just one play.

Hansen, questionable on injury report, has an extremely tight back. Texans rookie linebacker Jamal Hill, a speedy sixth-round draft pick from Oregon, is active for the first time this season, per league sources. A converted safety, Hill has run the 40-yard dash in 4.41 seconds.

Al-Shaair has started every game and ranks second on the team to To’oTo’o with 29 tackles and has three for losses, four quarterback hits and one sack.

Texans starting right tackle Tytus Howard is out Sunday, per league sources. Howard was listed as questionable with a hamstring and rookie Blake Fisher, a second-round draft pick from Notre Dame, will make his first NFL start.

The Texans’ other inactives are defensive end Derek Barnett, running back Joe Mixon (sprained ankle), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring) and return specialist Steven Sims Jr.

The Texans officially activated defensive end Dylan Horton after he returned to practice Wednesday after opening the season on the non-football illness list.

Horton worked with the second-team defense all week, per league sources, and is now set for rotation duty behind Pro Bowl defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.

They placed veteran defensive end Jerry Hughes on injured reserve with a hip injury. Hughes, 35, has one tackle this season.

With Mixon out for Sunday’s game, the third week in a row he’s been out with a sprained ankle suffered on Chicago Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards’ illegal hip drop tackle, the backfield rotation will mirror last week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with Cam Akers as RB1 and Dare Ogunbbowale, who caught the game-winning touchdown last week, operating as the third-down back and a change of pace.

Running back J.J. Taylor, who has rushed for 21 yards on seven carries in two games, was elevated from the practice squad for the third time this season. That is the NFL limit.

Pierce is out after returning for one light practice Friday from a strained hamstring that has kept him out the past three games.

Veteran wide receiver Robert Woods is expected to be available for Sunday’s game, per a league source. Foot injury was managed this week with one rest day. He is listed as questionable.

Diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a rookie last season, Horton is in remission. He celebrated an important medical milestone, completing his final treatment by ringing the bell at M.D. Anderson.

“Wow, what an awesome story,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after practice Wednesday. “For Dylan to be back after everything he has gone through, battling cancer, then to see him back on the field almost an entire year of missing football. The way he handled it and the mindset at which he handled it, he always still attacked it with a smile, he attacked it with a great attitude every single day.

“Everything he went through, I can’t say Dylan had a bad day because he never showed it and that is just proof to everyone that, no matter what we are going through, a lot of people are out here battling cancer, battling things in life, attacking it with the right mindset, a positive attitude really goes a long way and Dylan represents that. We are all very thankful and happy to have him back today.”

The Texans recognized Horton during a team meeting in the spring, drawing applause as his teammates stood behind the former fourth-round draft pick from TCU.

“Glory to God,” Horton wrote on Instagram with a video showing himself ringing the bell. “Final Treatment.”

“On December 1st, 2023, I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma,” Horton said in a statement in March. “Through God’s grace, I’m blessed to say that I’m currently in remission! I am grateful for the love from my family and friends, and support from the Texans organization and my doctors. My next objective is to complete my treatments, then get back to playing the game that I love. Thank you for your prayers and support as I continue this journey.”

• Texans defensive end Dylan Horton in remission after diagnosis of Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, hopes to play again

Horton ended last season on the non-football illness reserve list.

A native of Frisco, Horton, 23, played in 10 games for the AFC South champions. He recorded 13 tackles, one for a loss and two quarterback hits.

“I was happy to have him in our team meeting this morning and highlight him,” Ryans said. “All the guys were clapping for him, and you see the support that he has, all of them. All of the guys that were around him, praying for him, pulling for him, encouraging him along the way.

“That is what life is all about. We get to do football for a living but when real life hits you as something as serious as that and to see a young man overcome it at such a young age, I couldn’t be more proud of him and what he has accomplished. To see him ring that bell was the exciting moment for everyone.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com