Texans tight end Garrett Graham was limited in practice on Wednesday after suffering a concussion on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. He could play Sunday in the Divisional Round at New England if he passes league concussion testing protocols.
Graham was hit hard in the helmet by Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict late in the fourth quarter of the Texans' 19-13 Wild Card victory over Cincinnati. He suffered another concussion earlier this season on Dec. 2 at Tennessee and missed the following game, which was the Texans' 42-14 loss to the Patriots. Graham practiced all week that week but was not cleared for the game and did not travel with the team to Foxboro.
A third-year pro from Wisconsin, Graham caught 28 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns in 2012. He had three catches for 29 yards on Saturday against the Bengals. The fact that he practiced on Wednesday is surely an encouraging sign for the Texans, who like to use Graham, tight end Owen Daniels and fullback James Casey on the field at the same time to give their offense different looks.Â
"That gives us our versatility as an offensive football team," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Wednesday. "We've got both of those guys (Daniels and Graham), so they were big in the game last week. They'll be important this week."
Cornerback Alan Ball was the only Texans player who did not practice on Wednesday. Kubiak said Ball would return to practice on Thursday. Ball, who missed the final five games of the regular season with a foot injury but returned to face the Bengals, sat out Wednesday because the Texans practiced on turf indoors due to rain outside at the Methodist Training Center.
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