Texans veteran starting linebacker Christian Kirksey plans to play Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams with a club on his fractured thumb after getting hurt against the Arizona Cardinals.
Kirksey returned to practice Thursday sporting a club to protect his thumb after sustaining the fracture and ligament damage Sunday.
“Thumb’s feeling good, running around, moving, making plays, so I feel fine,” Kirksey said. “It’s football. Part of the game.
“Honestly, I don’t even pay attention to it. It’s one of those things where it’s a mindset. You just go out there and continue to play ball.”
Kirksey leads the Texans with 51 tackles and has started every game. He got hurt in the second quarter at State Farm Stadium during a 31-5 defeat.
"Just tried to make the tackle, end up hitting it wrong and the rest was history,” Kirksey said. “Things happen, you got to keep playing, it’s part of the game and you just got to push through it.”
Kirksey could eventually need to have surgery to repair the thumb injury, and expressed confidence he’ll remain effective.
“We’ll handle it once it gets to that time,” he said. “Right now, it feels fine. Right now, I feel good and able to do my job. As long as it doesn’t affect that I don’t have any complaints.”
“I guess we will see Sunday. It’s my first time, but this week I’ve been moving well with it. It’s not a concern to me.”
The Texans' defensive signal caller, Kirksey finished second on the defense with eight tackles during a 31-5 defeat to the undefeated Cardinals.
Since signing a one-year, $4.5 million contract this offseason to join the Texans after previous stints with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns, Kirksey has one interception.
If Kirksey is sidelined or limited, the Texans would likely go with a combination of Kamu Grugier-Hill, Zach Cunningham and Kevin Pierre-Louis.
It's one of the deeper positions on the 1-6 Texans, a rebuilding team on a six-game losing streak. Neville Hewitt is another possibility at Mike linebacker for the Texans with Cunningham and defensive coordinator Lovie Smith both pointing to him as a potential replacement for Kirksey if he can't go.
"We have guys stepping up to the role," Cunningham said. "Neville, we have stepping up as that Mike linebacker, stepping up in that role. I think he’s going to do a good job in there.”
Meanwhile, veteran center Justin Britt (knee) and offensive guard Justin McCray (ankle) returned to practice after being sidelined Wednesday. Texans defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson returned to practice from a back injury after aggravating a herniated disc.
Grugier-Hill, who leads the Texans with five tackles for losses, was praised for his play Wednesday by coach David Culley.
“He’s done very well," Culley said. "He’s been one of the leaders on this team. He plays probably more snaps than anybody we have on defense because of how valuable he is on special teams. He’s playing very well for us.”
Grugier-Hill, who gave Kirksey some advice about playing with a thumb injury and wearing a cast, expects Kirksey to use his club to full advantage.
“You’ve just got a big club on your hand, you’re not really able to grab,” Grugier-Hill said. “It just makes it a little difficult, but you can do it. We told him he better have some punch-outs. He better have some strip attempts this game.
“I think when we play football, it’s your hand. If you’re not a receiver, we really don’t have to catch too much. He’ll be fine.”
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He's on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128
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