E.J. Speed recently suffered a quadriceps tear, leading to the expectation he would miss time during the regular season. Any appearances in 2026 from the Texans linebacker would now come as a surprise.
Speed was initially thought to have suffered a partial tear of both the quadriceps muscle and tendon, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports further testing revealed a full tear of the latter. As a result, Speed is now expected to miss the entire season. Wilson adds successful surgery has already taken place, setting up a lengthy recovery process.
Speed was originally in line to spend training camp on the active/PUP list before being moved to the reserve/PUP list during roster cutdowns. That approach would have ensured at least a four-game absence to begin the campaign while leaving the door open to a return later in the year. Now, the Texans may elect to place Speed on injured reserve. Any player moved to IR at this point of the offseason is guaranteed to miss the entire campaign (barring a release and subsequent signing).
After six seasons with the Colts, Speed made an intra-AFC South move by signing with the Texans in free agency last spring. The former fifth-rounder made 16 appearances during his debut season with Houston, handling a part-time workload on defense while also contributing on special teams. Speed’s presence in both regards will be missed on a Texans team which is expected to once again field one of the league’s best defenses as part of its efforts to advance beyond the divisional round of the playoffs.
Speed re-signed with Houston on a two-year deal in March. The $10MM pact contained $7.5MM fully guaranteed, an indication of the 31-year-old’s importance moving forward. 2026 is now in line to be a write-off, however, with Wilson adding a return in time for the playoffs in not expected in this case. Speed’s contract contains $1.75MM in guaranteed salary for the 2027 season.
Go sign Bobby Wagner go sign Okereke for depth and leadership