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Former Ohio State Buckeyes’ fan favorite suffers unfortunate hit to his NFL career that you never want to see

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Brandon Little | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 1:50 PM ET

The tight end position hasn’t always been very productive in Columbus, which makes it all the more impressive that the Ohio State Buckeyes were able to land Max Klare in the transfer portal. Ohio State has still produced a number of NFL tight ends, and the most recent one is among the more productive. Cade Stover posted 576 receiving yards in his senior season before becoming a fourth-round pick of the Houston Texans.

Stover’s landing with the Texans was a cool story because he reunited with former Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud, a close friend from their time together at Ohio State. Unfortunately for Stover, he’s now hit a setback in just his second NFL season.

Former Ohio State star Cade Stover out indefinitely after serious injury in NFL Week 1

Stover had a career day, catching four passes for 22 yards in the Texans’ season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. It was the most receptions he had in a single game, but he’s now set to miss significant time with a broken foot. The news was first reported by Aaron Wilson of Click2Houston, who noted that Stover could possibly return late in the season.

Sources: #Texans starting tight end Cade Stover broke his foot against #Rams and is out indefinitely. Stover, who was in a boot after the game, caught a team-high four passes for 22 yards on four targets Sunday @KPRC2 https://t.co/8iRlBx7Nqv
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 8, 2025

Last year with the Texans, Stover started nine of the 15 games he played, recording 15 receptions for 133 yards and his first NFL touchdown. The Lexington, Ohio native was expected to take on a bigger role this season, especially with TE Brevin Jordan already out for the year, leaving Houston thin behind Dalton Schultz.

This is an unfortunate setback for Stover in the second year of his four-year rookie contract. Still, at just 25 years old, he has plenty of time to recover and could return before season’s end. Whether he does may depend on where the Texans stand in the playoff race. For now, they sit at 0-1 and will look to bounce back next Monday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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