Lamar Miller's 2019 campaign has ended with the Houston Texans placing their Pro Bowl running back on injured reserve Monday.
"Tests showed that Lamar tore his ACL," head coach Bill O'Brien said. "Tough loss. Obviously, a guy that we are going to miss in the meeting room, we're going to miss on the practice field and obviously, we're going to miss him on the game field."
The eight-year veteran suffered a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's preseason game at Dallas. On the second play of the game, Miller took a hit to the knee by Cowboys defensive lineman Maliek Collins. After being evaluated by trainers on the field, Miller was carted off to the locker room and did not return.
Without Miller, the Texans currently have six running backs on the roster heading into their final preseason game on Thursday: Duke Johnson, Damarea Crockett, Josh Ferguson, Karan Higdon Jr., Buddy Howell and Taiwan Jones, as well as rookie fullback Cullen Gillaspia. Johnson, a 2015 third-round draft pick, was acquired via trade from Cleveland on August 8.
"I think as you look at our running back situation right now, we have a good situation," O'Brien said. "I think adding Duke Johnson was a good move. He's been good in the meeting room, in practice, professional attitude. Taiwan Jones, that addition in the offseason was a good one. Buddy Howell has been a really steady guy for us on special teams. We've got Higdon and Crockett battling it out, we've got Gillaspia. So, we'll see what happens. Anything can happen."
Miller, who missed just two games in 2018, finished with 973 yards rushing on 210 carries and 25 receptions for 163 yards while scoring six touchdowns (five rushing, one receiving) last year. He was selected to his first career Pro Bowl. Miller ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards since 2014 with 4,905 yards, trailing only LeSean McCoy.
