The Houston Texans are already underdogs heading into their Wild Card Round matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, so the last thing they need is bad news.
Well, that is kind of, sort of what they just received.
The Texans have released their Thursday injury report before facing the Chargers this Saturday, and offensive lineman Shaq Mason has been ruled out due to a knee injury.
Here's the thing: the general expectation was that Mason probably wouldn't be available, so this does not come as much of a shock.
However, when Mason injured his knee during Houston's loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 21, it was initially said that he would miss two to four weeks.
That meant that there appeared to be a possibility that the veteran would be able to return for the playoffs, so there was a glimmer of hope that he could potentially get back on the field.
But it doesn't appear that it was ever really all that likely.
Mason is currently in his second year with the Texans and was part of an offensive line unit that experienced all sorts of issues this season.
The 31-year-old wasn't terrible in his own right, but he wasn't great, registering a rather pedestrian 62.3 overall grade at Pro Football Focus.
Still, Mason was obviously Houston's best option available at right guard, so his absence is only going to make things more difficult in the trenches for the Texans, especially against a fierce Chargers pass rush that includes Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa.
