Yesterday, Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans announced that starting safety M.J. Stewart would require season ending quad surgery:
This comes as a destabilizing blow to the number one defense in the NFL. Houston’s defensive backfield relied heavily on Stewart after former free agent signee CJ Gardner-Johnson was released in week four after struggling to gel with the Texans’ defensive scheme.
In his nine appearances and four starts during the 2025 regular season, M.J. Stewart tallied:
- 228 Snaps on Defense, 102 Snaps on Special Teams
- 30 Tackles (5 on Special Teams)
- 2 Pass Deflections
- 7 Reception on 12 Targets (58.3 Rec%) for 68 Yards and 1 Touchdown
- 4 Stops
- 1 Forced Fumble
- 102.1 Passer Rating Allowed
- 49.7 PFF grade
An eight year veteran in his fourth year in Houston, M.J. Stewart had become one of the unsung heroes on Houston’s dominant defense this year. Stewart has been a tackling machine since stepping up into the starting role after Gardner-Johnson’s unexpected departure. He perfectly embodies the swarm mindset that forms the base of DeMeco Ryans’ defensive philosophy, and on special teams, M.J. Stewart was a bully:
Stewart had signed his third contract with Houston this year, a 1-year, $2.5 million extension with the Texans in March 2025. His instincts and athleticism made him an integral part of what current head coach DeMeco Ryans, former head coach Lovie Smith, and current special teams coordinator Frank Ross wanted to implement in Houston. So, even though M.J. Stewart may just seem like another replaceable DB on the Texans’ uber-athletic roster, his impact on the team goes much further than what is conveyed on a stat sheet.
After Stewart was carted off the field during the Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Texans moved cornerback Myles Bryant to the starting role. Bryant, recently elevated from Houston’s practice squad, is a multi-year veteran of his own and has recent experience from playing snaps for the Texans late in the 2024 season and during the preseason. Starting safety Jalen Pitre was inactive for the game, as well, so when Houston played in nickel formation, they brought out backup cornerback Tremon Smith to play nickel.
Pitre will eventually return from injury, but Stewart won’t, so Bryant will have to adjust to the safety position and fill in Stewart’s role on defense and special teams to the best of his ability. If not Bryant, then other Texans DBs like rookie sixth round pick Jaylen Reed from Penn State, cornerback Damon Arnette (who elevated to the active roster as of Nov. 8th), veteran safety Jalen Mills, or recent practice squad signee Alijah Huzzie will need to step up.
Safety Jimmie Ward also remains on the roster after he was removed from the commissioners exempt list, but has yet to appear in a game. According to Aaron Wilson, Ward had, “…made major progress from pair of offseason foot surgeries” and, “…[the Texans are] expecting him to be ready medically to to start practicing in next few weeks” as of Sept. 24th. Despite this, he remains on the Reserve/PUP list on the Texans website.
Out of all these options, I expect Jaylen Reed and Myles Bryant to absorb the most snaps in replacement of M.J. Stewart. This could have been an opportunity for rookie third round pick Jaylin Smith to get more snaps on defense, but he was also placed on season-ending IR on Nov. 5th.
DeMeco Ryans also announced that quarterback CJ Stroud, right tackle Tytus Howard, and safety Jalen Pitre all remain in concussion protocol as of Monday. They will need to clear concussion protocol this week if they plan to play in Sunday’s contest against the Tennessee Titans. If not, Houston will be relying on depth once again to keep their playoff hopes alive.
We here at Battle Red Blog are wish M.J. Stewart a speedy recovery!
