Benardrick McKinney‘s season has come to an end. Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports (via Twitter) that the Texans linebacker has to undergo shoulder surgery and is done for the year. The team is expected to place McKinney on injured reserve.
It’s uncertain when McKinney initially suffered the injury, but the ailment sidelined him for this past weekend’s win over the Jaguars. Through the first four games of the season, the 27-year-old had compiled 37 tackles and one pass defended. He had also played at least 80-percent of his team’s defensive snaps through those four contests.
The 2015 second-round pick has spent his entire career in Houston, including a 2016 campaign where he earned a second-team All-Pro nod after compiling 129 tackles and five sacks. After inking a five-year, $50MM extension with Houston in 2018, he garnered his first and only Pro Bowl appearance.
It’s never easy losing a player of McKinney’s caliber, but the team does have some solid depth at linebacker. Tyrell Adams earned the start in McKinney’s stead this past weekend, and he responded by compiling a career-high 13 tackles.
Tough loss for Houston. Their season is probably over anyway, unless they can pull off a huge upset in Nashville on Sunday. Making the playoffs at 1-5 is nearly impossible.