Ejiofor's season is done

Houston Texans' OLB Duke Ejiofor suffers torn ACL, out for season

Duke Ejiofor
Photo by Zach Tarrant/Houstontexans.com
Duke Ejiofor

The Houston Texans announced late Friday afternoon that OLB Duke Ejiofor sustained an ACL injury during the first day of padded practice — originally reported by Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. With no timetable on his return, Texans' head coach Bill O'Brien expects a long rehab process for the 25-year-old Houston native.

"Duke Ejiofor suffered a knee injury in practice," head coach Bill O'Brien said Saturday morning. "Duke has been through a lot...It's a tough blow for him, and it's going to be a long rehab for him. We'll place him on IR in the next couple of days."

In 2018, the Texans selected Ejiofor in the sixth-round of the 2018 NFL Draft. During the 12 games he played as a rookie, Ejiofor showed promise recording nine tackles, a sack, two pass breakups and a fumble recovery in 158 defensive snaps and 56 on special teams. He suffered a torn Achilles' tendon last training camp and missed all of the 2019 season.

With Ejiofor out, O'Brien says he expects to increase the role of Jacob Martin to help fill in the void. Acquired in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for Jadeveon Clowney, Martin recorded 11 tackles (six solo hits), seven quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks in 221 defensive snaps in 2019.

"He brings a lot of energy to practice," O'Brien said. "Really quick first step in pass rush game. Gotten better at understanding our system. Body type that helps us on special teams. Great guy, really good pro, brings a lot of juice to our defense."

In addition to Martin, the Texans will rely on rookie Jonathan Greenard and third-year linebacker Peter Kalambayi to step in for the injured Ejiofor.

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Houston needs a series win in the worst way. Composite Getty Image.

Takeaways from the Tigers sweep of the Astros

Total butt kicking. The offense was dreadful, scoring just two runs over three games. However, what’s killing the offense the most is the outfield. Outside of when Altuve plays left field, Houston doesn’t have another major league-quality outfielder right now. Jesus Sanchez not only swung at a Charlie Morton curveball that hit him in the knee, he’s also ice-cold, going 0-for-28 at the plate. At least he’s someone you expect to turn things around, but he’s in a huge slump currently. Beyond him, Jacob Melton, Taylor Trammell, and Chas McCormick have all been dragging down the offense. Cam Smith is struggling too, with just one hit in his last seven games.

Is Framber Valdez going to be okay?

Starting pitching was another big issue against the Tigers, and Valdez was a key part of the problem, basically losing the finale in the first inning after allowing six runs. This isn’t an outlier—he’s got a 7+ ERA through four starts in August. Spencer Arrighetti isn’t faring much better, posting a 7+ ERA through three starts. One silver lining with Valdez: the Tigers know him well. They had success against him in the playoffs last season, and it looks like they’re continuing that formula—force him to throw strikes, hit the other way on the sinker, and if the curveball isn’t up, let it go. AJ Hinch knows the deal.

Is the return of Yordan Alvarez enough to boost the offense?

It has to be. The only real way to give this lineup a spark is getting Yordan and Jake Meyers back. Yordan had a successful first rehab outing, collecting a couple of hits, a walk, and even a stolen base. Adding him back to the top of the lineup gives the Astros a formidable top four: Peña, Altuve, Yordan, and Correa. As for Meyers, the outfield has been the biggest drag on the offense. The key is whether he can continue to hit near .300 when he returns from injury. If he does, Altuve and Meyers in the outfield makes a huge difference, and Joe Espada can figure out right field with Sanchez and Smith.

Is the schedule not as soft as anticipated?

We’ve seen some strange results across the league this week, and some of that has to be chalked up to the Dog Days of Summer. Players are tired, and results have been wild. Thankfully, the Mariners are struggling too, giving the Astros some breathing room. Player adjustments after the trade deadline could also be a factor—Sanchez, anyone? Many big free agents have struggled immediately after changing teams, Walker and Juan Soto included.

Can they recover and take advantage of bad teams?

One thing we know about this year’s Astros: they can flip the switch and win multiple series on a moment’s notice. They’re just as capable of sweeping a series as they are of getting swept. Let’s hope that starts with four wins in Baltimore.

There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!

The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode on Thursday!

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