Doctors discovered on Wednesday that Mathis is suffering from an unspecified lower leg injury.
Texans head coach Gary Kubiak addressed the media on Thursday and revealed a potentially severe injury to wide receiver Jerome Mathis.
Head Coach Gary Kubiak
(on if there is anything new with the team today) "No, (RB) Ahman (Green) practiced some, so that's encouraging as we move forward. Not much has changed in anything. The one thing, I'll mention this to you all, is with (WR) Jerome (Mathis). Jerome does have a problem with his lower leg. He is at the hospital right now. We are, basically, in the process of diagnosing how severe it is and how long it's going to take. I don't know enough to sit here and tell you all exactly what the problem is. I'll let (head athletic trainer) Kevin (Bastin) do that. We definitely figured out what's bothering him; now we have to figure out how long the kid's going to be out or how severe this injury is. That's all I can tell you."
(on what's bothering WR Jerome Mathis) "He's got a problem in his lower leg. They found the spot. I hate to be so vague; I'll let Kevin (Bastin) talk to you. He definitely has a problem. Hell, the kid could barely walk, run. We were looking and looking and last night they asked him to go back and do some more and they did, and we know we have a problem right now that we're dealing with. We'll let you know how severe the problem is here as quick as we can."
(on his expectations for how long WR Jerome Mathis will be out) "I couldn't even tell you. I have no idea. I know he's going to miss some time. I know that."
(on how disappointing this is) "It's very disappointing for the kid. He did everything we asked him to do. He worked extremely hard. He had a good camp. He was helping this team and then this starts again. We went through this last year and, basically, the kid missed the entire season last year. I don't know how many times he was active, maybe three or four, I could be wrong, but to have this happen again to the kid, it's unfortunate for him. But I will say this, there had to be something wrong because it was bothering him too much and we were doing everything we could to find out and now we think we know what the problem is."
(on what will be done as far as WR Jerome Mathis' spot on the roster) "It really doesn't change anything. It's just obvious that we have an issue at wide receiver. We have three healthy wide receivers. If we're going to get a fourth one, we're going to have to pull somebody up or sign somebody. It's as simple as that. We have to make that decision how we go play this game, just like I told you last week. Do we go play it with four tight (ends) and three wide (receivers) or do we sign a receiver? That's a decision we have to make. We have to keep going forward."
(on the status of WR Jacoby Jones) "He's about the same as he was yesterday. He did a little bit, caught punts, put the pads on, took them off, but very limited in practice."
(on if he expects WR Jacoby Jones to play on Sunday) "I don't want to go that far yet, but it's about the same as it was yesterday."
(on WR Andre Johnson's results from the doctor yesterday) "Nothing new, just the fact that everything's positive and he can start to speed up his work to get back on the field. That's where he's at. But that's it. Like I said with (WR) Jerome (Mathis) you guys, we'll let you know. I don't know what else to tell you."
(on having a player battling injuries) "It's hard. I've seen players that their first two or three years in their career battle injury, injury, injury, and you're like, 'will they ever stay one the field for the full amount of time?' Then all of a sudden, they get healthy and play 10 years. You don't know. This kid's had an issue with his leg. Is this the exact same issue he had last year? No, it's my understanding it's not the same, but it's on the same side. It's part of the problem. I feel bad for him because he couldn't go and we're having a hard time finding out why and this team could really use him. He could help, but there's nothing you can do. If you're hurt, you're hurt."
(on if he knows what exam was used to determine the problem) "I just know that they went through many tests last night and I got a call about 10:00 p.m. from Kevin (Bastin) explaining to me what was going on, explained to me about the way I'm explaining to you. I'll let Kevin do the rest of the work with you."
(on if WR Jerome Mathis stayed in the hospital) "No, he was here. He actually came over here, was at practice early watching practice. We sent him to a specialist here this afternoon. That's why he's not here today. He should be back in the building some time this afternoon, but we're just really trying to diagnose this issue, trying to get a feel for what we're looking at because we're going to have to make a decision. We need to know what we're dealing with, so we're trying to get that more defined."
(on if he expects the Dolphins to be hungry coming into this week) "There's no such thing in this league. Anybody can beat anybody in this league. We will have to play as a good as we've played all year long to win this weekend. No doubt in my mind. They are playing really well on offense. They have a lot of weapons. They've got a defense that is one of the best in football. They've been missing their MIKE linebacker for the last two weeks. That's tough. We will have to play great to beat Miami, I can promise you that."
(on Miami's inability to stop the run) "They have struggled and like I've said, I think a lot of has to due with the fact that their leader is not in there. (LB) Zach (Thomas) has not been in there. They have a lot of pride. They've stopped a lot of people through the years and I know the group that's going to show up this weekend is going to be foaming at the mouth. I know that group. I've played against them many times. I know (DT Keith) Traylor and I know (DE) Jason (Taylor), and I know those players and they will be ready to go. We will have our work cut out for us."
