Devlin Stokes: Dear Drew, Are the Houston Texans benching their starters for Week 18, to help them rest up for the playoffs?
DD: It doesn’t sound like it. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans met with the media on Monday afternoon at NRG Stadium and explained what to expect against the Titans this Sunday in Nashville, as far as starters and playing time.

“Everybody will be out there playing and we’ll see how the game goes,” Ryans said. “But for us, right now, we’ve got to go play better. And our last outing on the field was not good enough, not representative of who we are defensively, offensively, just – it’s not a good representation of our team entirely. So, we’ve got to go out and we’ve got to play better football.”

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Mike Henry: Dear Drew, Will Azeez Al-Shaair play Sunday at Nashville?
DD: Yes. The linebacker’s 3-game suspension is finished, and he practiced with the team at the Houston Methodist Training Center on Monday. Ryans is glad to have Al-Shaair back.

“We’ve missed him over these past three weeks, just missed his presence, his leadership, missed his playmaking ability on the field,” Ryans said. “So, we’re excited to get him back out there and let him knock some of the rust off.”

Celeste Rogers: Dear Drew, Why don’t the Texans wear Battle Red more?
DD: Celeste, NFL teams are allowed to wear an alternate home uniform three times per season. The Texans wore their Battle Red uniforms once this year, and their City-Inspired uniforms with the “H” on the helmet twice in 2024. We’ll see if that changes or flip-flops in years to come.

Roel Lopez: Hey Drew! I really like the rookies we’ve drafted this past offseason on the defensive side of the ball. Will the Texans draft more on the offensive side of the ball this coming offseason?
DD: We’ll see. It’s always tough to gauge. General Manager/Executive Vice President Nick Caserio and company are always adamant about taking the best player available at each draft slot.