The Houston Texans lost wide receiver Will Fuller for the season due with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Fuller was injured in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 42-23 victory over the Miami Dolphins. An MRI exam on Friday morning revealed the severity of the injury, the Houston Chronicle reported.
“I’m disappointed for Will,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien told the newspaper.
Fuller had five receptions for 124 yards, including a 73-yard scoring strike from Deshaun Watson, as Houston rolled to its fifth consecutive victory Thursday night.
It was the third 100-yard game of the season for Fuller, who finishes the season with 32 receptions for 503 yards and four touchdowns in seven games. He was averaging a career-best 15.7 yards per catch.
A first-round pick (No. 21 overall) out of Notre Dame in the 2016 NFL Draft, Fuller had 47 receptions for 635 yards and a pair of scores as a rookie.
The 6-foot, 184-pound speedster dipped to 28 catches in 10 games in 2017, but he turned them into a career-best seven touchdowns.
Fuller’s injury leaves Houston thin at wide receiver. DeAndre Hopkins is among the league’s best with 53 receptions and six touchdowns, but rookie Keke Coutee was inactive for Thursday’s game due to a hamstring injury that has plagued him since the preseason. He had 20 catches in three games before he was hurt at Jacksonville last weekend.
“There’s a lot of guys in that locker room that can help fill the void,” O’Brien said.
The Texans (5-3), who have won five in a row to surge into first place in the AFC South, do not play until Nov. 4 at Denver and have a bye the following week.
