Brian Cushing Diagnosed with Concussion, Ruled Out vs. Jaguars in Week 1

The Houston Texans announced linebacker Brian Cushing suffered a concussion during Sunday's season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

This is another setback for Cushing, who dealt with an MCL injury last year and played 13 games. He also played just 12 contests in 2010, five in 2012 and seven in 2013.

After being selected at No. 15 overall in the 2009 NFL draft by Houston, Cushing was a Pro Bowler his rookie season and the Defensive Rookie of the Year with a career-best 134 combined tackles and four interceptions. While he hasn't replicated those numbers since as he dealt with injury concerns, he still managed 110 combined tackles as recently as 2015.

He is a veteran presence on a Texans defense striving to maintain its status as one of the best in the league, but it still has playmakers such as J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus. The Texans can also turn to the likes of Dylan Cole and Brian Peters alongside Benardrick McKinney at inside linebacker if Cushing misses extensive time.

The Texans have enough pieces to survive in the short term, but Cushing was one reason Houston rode its defense to an AFC South title in 2016. The team could use him back and healthy after this latest injury.