Will Anderson injury: Texans DE leaves game vs. Jets in 1st quarter

The Houston Texans were marching down the field in the first quarter before the New York Jets forced and recovered a fumble. Then, Houston nearly got the ball back – but Will Anderson was down on the play.

Anderson went into the Jets backfield as Breece Hall took a handoff for a first down and appeared to run into a teammate. His left leg appeared to get caught, and the former Alabama star later walked off the field with help from the training staff.

Anderson headed into the injury tent after getting to the sideline. However, he later started running on the sideline and later returned to the game. Prime Video’s Kaylee Hartung also noted the amount of tape on his leg, though, before getting back on the field.

“When Will Anderson came off the field looking like he had contact to his left shin area, you saw him putting very little weight on that left leg,” Hartung said on the broadcast. “He spent eight minutes in the blue medical tent, then you guys saw him just as I did, come out, do some agility drills and position drills to test it out. He looks to have a very heavy tape job on his left ankle and he’s been given his helmet back by the training staff.”

Anderson is coming off a huge first season in the NFL last year, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year for his efforts. He totaled 45 tackles to go with 10 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks and 22 quarterback hits after the Texans traded up to pick him No. 3 overall in the NFL Draft.

He picked up right where he left off to start the 2024 campaign. Entering Thursday night, Anderson had 7.5 tackles and 11 tackles for loss – surpassing last year’s total in both categories – to go with 27 total tackles.

His strong start helped him earn the AFC’s Defensive Player of the Month award for October after putting up huge numbers. He had 18 tackles, seven TFLs, five sacks, seven quarterback hits and a forced fumble as part of a massive month heading into the Thursday Night Football matchup against the Jets.