The suspensions of receiver Will Fuller and cornerback Bradley Roby stunned the Houston sports community, but there was one Texans assistant coach who didn’t get worked up over the losses.
Defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver told reports Thursday that when he learned of the six-game suspensions of Roby and Fuller, which will keep them out of the Texans’ final five games, he just took it in stride.
“Honestly, this year in particular I didn’t have much of a reaction at all,” Weaver said.” Those type of things are actually unsurprising.”
2020 has been a strange year from COVID-19 knocking out the offseason to having no preseason games to Houston starting 0-4 to coach Bill O’Brien getting fired. The Texans have had so many emotional triggers throughout the calendar year that the blinker may be broken.
Although Weaver didn’t have a reaction Monday night, he does know how much Roby meant to the defense as a cover corner, and they will have to find solutions from within.
“It’s unfortunate,” said Weaver. “He’s a very good player. He’s been very productive for us, but we’ve been in this situation before. We were without him in Jacksonville and we went out there and we delivered a victory. Nothing changes.”
Roby was out for the Week 9 game against Jacksonville, and the Texans cobbled together a solution at cornerback with Phillip Gaines and Keion Crossen for a 27-25 win.
“The expectations don’t change,” Weaver said. “We’re just going to do everything we can, and the next man has to step up to go out there to try to get a win.”
The Texans take on the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at NRG Stadium. A win would give Houston a three-game winning streak and optimism as they seek to backdoor their way into the postseason after a tumultuous start to the season.
