- Texans offensive line coach James Campen isn't about to bemoan his shorthanded position group going into Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers at NRG Stadium.
"Coach Campen right before practice was like, ‘Hey, look around, this is the eight guys we’ve got and this is the eight guys we’re going into the game with,'" rookie center Jimmy Morrissey said. "So, we’re preparing to play on Sunday and just hoping that we get there and are able to compete.”
Starting left tackle Tytus Howard, center Justin Britt, left guard Lane Taylor and right guard Justin McCray are on the COVID-19/reserve list.
Morrissey is slated to make his fourth NFL start. The Texans will also likely start left tackle Geron Christian, left guard Cole Toner, Morrissey, right guard Max Scharping and right tackle Charlie Heck, according to coach David Culley Friday morning.
A Las Vegas Raiders seventh-round draft pick from Pitt, Morrissey is leaning on his previous experience and advice from older teammates like Britt.
“Lot of things are more technical that I’ve learned," said Morrissey, signed off the Raiders practice squad earlier this season. "I got comfortable once the third game came around with the playbook, really.
"I have been with the team for longer than a couple weeks now. I feel confident out there and my relationship with all the guys on the offense has been great so far. Really, the key takeaways from those games were little techniques, things that I need to tweak a little bit that got me beat a couple times.”
The Texans have been hit hard by COVID, with the highly-contagious Omicron variant impacting the entire league. The Texans have 23 players currently on the COVID list, including top receiver Brandin Cooks and kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn.
The Texans (3-11) are counting on players to step up and compete at a high level if they hope to spring the upset. The Chargers (8-6) are in the thick of the AFC playoff race.
“It’s tricky, probably trickier than it has been here the last couple of months that we have been dealing with COVID," offensive coordinator Tim Kelly said. "First and foremost want to make sure that we are keeping everybody safe, keeping everyone’s family safe, obviously that’s paramount.
"As far as football, being able to go and this is why we teach the offense as opposed to coming in and being able to memorize plays. In a situation like this where Sunday we may be down a few people, I’m not quite sure yet."
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