The injury-depleted Houston Texans offensive line suffered another major blow in their 13-15 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Rookie center Jarrett Patterson got carted off the field after he injured his ankle in the fourth quarter. He suffered a fractured ankle. Houston placed him on the injured reserve and will likely miss the rest of the season.
The Houston Texans drafted Patterson in the 6th round.
Patterson played college football at Notre Dame. He started in 48 games, played over 3,000 snaps, and never allowed a sack with Notre Dame. Houston drafted him in the 6th round, 201st overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Patterson started the first seven games because Houston had two centers placed on the injured reserve to start the season.
The first Texans center to be placed on the IR was their projected starter.
The Texans signed Scott Quessenberry to a 1-year, $1.18 million contract to be the backup to Justin Britt. Houston placed Justin Britt on the non-football illness list after Week 1, missing the rest of the season. Scott Quessenberry finished the rest of the season as the starting center.
Houston re-signed Quessenberry to a 1-year, $2.1 million contract. He tore his left ACL and MCL during practice on August 3rd, 2023. Houston placed him on the injured reserve and will miss the rest of the season. Houston initially replaced Quessenberry with their 2nd-round pick.
The second Texans center to be placed on the IR was their 2023 2nd-round pick.
Patterson wasn’t the only center to be drafted by Houston in 2023. Houston traded up to draft Juice Scruggs in the 2nd round, 62nd overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. After the injury to Quessenberry, Scruggs took first-team reps during training camp and in preseason.
Juice Scruggs suffered a hamstring injury in the Texans’ preseason finale against the Saints. Houston placed him on the injured reserve on September 1st, 2023.
Who will be the starter moving forward?
Michael Deiter filled in for the injured Patterson for the rest of the game. Houston signed Michael Detier to a 1-year, $1,080,000 contract this offseason. Houston released him on August 29, 2023. Houston re-signed him to the practice squad. They signed him to the active roster on September 16th.
Michael Deiter likely remains the starter moving forward. There are a few factors in determining who will be the starter. The first factor is performance. Houston likely continues to play Deiter if he plays well. If he doesn’t, they might have to look elsewhere.
The last factor is whether Juice Scruggs gets activated off the injured reserve. Scruggs has missed the first seven games with a hamstring injury. Scruggs is eligible to return from the injured reserve. If they do designate him for return, he has 21-days to practice before he gets activated.
Losing Patterson is a major blow to the Texans offensive line.
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