HOUSTON – Texans nickel Jalen Pitre will undergo surgery to repair a partial tear of his pectoral, ending his season, according to league sources.
Pitre sought second opinions before ultimately it was determine that surgery was the best course of action rather than trying to play again this season.
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His injury represents a loss as the Stafford graduate was a key player whose absence changes the equation for a defense that relied heavily on his tackling skills.
Pitre got hurt against the Tennessee Titans while tackling wide receiver Tyler Boyd and caught the brunt of a collision with teammate Henry To’oTo’o.
It was initially diagnosed as a shoulder injury. A magnetic resonance imaging exam revealed the extent and nature of the injury.
“He’ll be out for some time,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of Pitre initially.
The Texans adapted to the loss of Pitre by shifting safety Jimmie Ward to nickel as his replacement.
Pitre, back at his natural nickel position where the Stafford graduate excelled as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Baylor, had started every game before he got hurt and recorded 65 tackles, six tackles for losses, one forced fumble, one interception and eight passes defensed.
“Jalen, he’s been a true impact player for us,” Ryans said. “Just being around the ball, just causing interceptions, forcing fumbles. He’s just been really active, very instinctive player for us. He’s been all over the field. And he’s made a lot of plays for us. And just miss his instincts, miss his playmaking ability, we’re going to miss that. So, we’ve got to pick it up and we’ve got to go. We’ve got to move forward. We’ve got to press forward.”
Ward stepped in for Pitre and returned a Will Levis interception 65 yards for a touchdown against the Titans He had one of his better games, recording six tackles, three for losses with one pass defensed.
In the past with the San Francisco 49ers, Ward had been reluctant to play nickel even though he’s proven to be good at the spot.
“I just got to do my 1/11, whatever the coaches ask of me to help the team win I’m going to do,” Ward said. “I think it went well. I stepped in. I did good enough. Scratch that, I didn’t do that well enough. We lost. Whatever ‘Meco wants me to play. He’s the head ball coach. He’ll put me in position to make plays.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
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