Texans’ QB Schaub Out For Season

Added on Nov 14, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The Houston Texans are the only NFL team to have never made the playoffs. Sure, they’re also the youngest NFL franchise but they had high hopes at changing that dubious distinction this season and are currently leading the weak AFC South division. Their fortunes took a hard hit today when it was revealed that starting quarterback Matt Schaub will miss the rest of the season after suffering a foot injury in the Texans’ blowout win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Schaub has suffered an as of yet unspecified Lisfranc injury–a fancy medical term for an injury to the middle part of the foot. Whether its a dislocation or fracture, this type of injury is very painful and difficult to heal. Houston coach Gary Kubiak said that a specialist is being flown to Houston to evaluate Schaub and that the quarterback will travel to Charlotte, NC later this week for further medical examination. Despite the severity of the injury, Kubiak refused to rule Schaub out for the rest of the season:

“There’s a lot of things reported. He’s going to be in a boot throughout this week, and then the evaluation process will continue.”

It also means that former USC standout Matt Leinart is now the Texans’ starting quarterback. Leinart didn’t take a snap in 2010 but Kubiak is confident that he can get the job done:

“That’s why he’s here, that’s why he came back. He liked this opportunity, he likes this team, he likes what we do offensively. You never know how an opportunity is going to occur, but here we go. It’s a big one for him, in his career.”

Leinart has been getting more reps in practice over the course of the season:

“He’s played in big football games in this league, he’s played in big football games in college. Matt’s been around it. The key is the whole team rallying around him, and playing well as a team. Matt doesn’t have to go win a game, the team has to go win a game. We’ll rally around him and get him ready to go.”

Houston has a bye this week before returning to action against Jacksonville. Even with Leinart under center the Texans should be a prohibitive NFL betting favorite over the woeful Jaguars.