Jadeveon Clowney Injury: Updates on Texans Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 26

The Houston Texans confirmed that Jadeveon Clowney is active for Sunday's game vs. Tennessee:

Earlier, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the pregame expectation for Clowney's Week 8 status:

Updates from Friday, Oct. 24

Deepi Sidhu of Texans.com relayed comments from head coach Bill O'Brien on Jadeveon Clowney's status:

Mark Berman of Fox 26 confirmed that Clowney is questionable for Sunday:

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 23

Mark Berman of Fox 26 passed along comments on Jadeveon Clowney's injured knee:

Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 22

Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston and Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle updated Jadeveon Clowney's status Wednesday:

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 21

Drew Dougherty of Texans.com has an update on Clowney:

Updates from Saturday, Oct. 18

Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle has an update on Clowney's status:

Bleacher Report's Will Carroll provides an update on Clowney's status for Monday night's game:

Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle has an update on Clowney:

Updates from Friday, Oct. 17

ESPN's Tania Ganguli has the latest on Clowney:

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 16 

Dave Zangaro of CSN Houston provides an update on Jadeveon Clowney's status:

Brian T. Smith of the Houston Chronicle reports on Clowney's status in more detail:

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Texans coach Bill O'Brien said that if the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NFL draft returns to action, he'll take the field in a limited capacity.

"It (is) still 50-50, and to be clear, if he were to play against Pittsburgh,it certainly wouldn't be for 70 plays," O'Brien said at NRG Stadium. "It would be for a certain amount of plays, and that's what we have to determine as a staff. … We have a while before Monday night."

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Updates from Wednesday, Oct. 15

Deepi Sidhu of Texans.com has an update on Clowney, courtesy of head coach Bill O'Brien:

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On Friday, Clowney said he would like to play on Monday Night Football against the Pittsburgh Steelers. O'Brien re-iterated on his Monday coach's show that the Clowney's return remains a 50/50 possibility following the off-weekend.

"He’s progressing," O’Brien said in an exclusive interview on Texans Radio. "He’s working really hard to get back and I would say it’s 50/50. Yeah, I think we have a long time here to get ready for Pittsburgh, longer than normal so hopefully, that bodes well for him being ready to go but I can’t guarantee you that he’ll be here for Pittsburgh."

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Updates from Sunday, Oct. 5

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports when fans could expect to see Jadeveon Clowney return to game action:

The Texans later confirmed Clowney would not play in Week 5: 

Updates from Thursday, Oct. 2

Dave Zangaro of CSN Houston and Tania Ganguli of ESPN passed along comments from Bill O'Brien on Jadeveon Clowney's status:

Updates from Tuesday, Sept. 30

Brian Smith of the Houston Chronicle and Dave Zangaro of CSN Houston provide comments from Jadeveon Clowney, who spoke about his injury:

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 28

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle confirms Jadeveon Clowney is inactive for Week 4:

Updates from Sunday, Sept. 21

Pat Hanlon of Giants.com confirms Jadeveon Clowney is inactive for Week 3:

Updates from Monday, Sept. 8

The Texans confirmed on Monday that Jadeveon Clowney needed surgery and will miss an extended period of time:

Teammate D.J. Swearinger spoke about Clowney's injury during yesterday's victory over Washington, via Albert Breer of NFL.com:

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He told me on the field when it happened, he was just like, "Bro, I just jumped, came down and hit one of the holes on the field." There are a few holes in the grass, so he said he thought he stepped on one of those holes and got hurt. So I told him to try and walk it off, see if he could go. He went in the next play and couldn't go, so I told him to go to the sideline and see what's up with it. And he went over to the sideline, and I guess that's when they told him (he had to stay out).

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Original Text

Houston Texans linebacker Jadeveon Clowney is on his way to being one of the most exciting defensive players in the NFL, but an injury suffered during Week 1 of the 2014 NFL season might slow him down for the time being.  

Tarik El-Bashir of CSNWashington.com had the report from the Texans' season opener against the Washington Redskins:

Clowney was later downgraded to out (via Albert Breer of NFL.com):

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports on the diagnosis on Clowney's injury:

Jason Cole of Bleacher Report passed along the worst-case scenario for Clowney's return to action:

John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reported on the Texans' backup plan while Clowney is out and corrects a previous report:

Following the game, head coach Bill O'Brien spoke about his star rookie (via McClain):

James Palmer of CSNHouston.com shared more postgame comments from O'Brien on Clowney:

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I don’t know what happened on the field. I’m not sure what happened on that one, but we’re consulting with the doctors and the trainers right now so I’m not sure about the status. But I will say that right now, they think it’s a good prognosis so it looks like it’s going to be OK. He may miss some time, he may not. Who knows? But we’ll know better as the week goes on.

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Will Carroll of Bleacher Report also weighed in on Clowney's injury:

The rookie was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft thanks to his outstanding athleticism and game-changing ability on the defensive line. As NFL Network's Breer noted, the skills that helped him succeed in college translate well to the pros:

A pairing of Clowney and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt should give opposing quarterbacks plenty of sleepless nights. As Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com noted, the star duo displayed its precocious talents early in the preseason:

With this type of ability, the Texans want to see as much of their 21-year-old No. 1 pick as possible.

Unfortunately, the knee injury could keep him out of the lineup if it ends up being serious. Houston is certainly looking toward the future with the young star, so it would not be surprising to see the coaching staff remain extra cautious at this stage in his career.

Meanwhile, the squad has a decent amount of depth in the front seven, with Watt leading the way. If Clowney is forced to miss any games, former first-round pick Whitney Mercilus could end up with more playing time in the interim.

Still, the future is bright for Clowney. As soon as he's able to return to action, he's certain to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. 

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