To'oTo'o on IR After Week 1

Henry To'oTo'o hurt his shoulder against Buffalo on Sunday and has been placed on injured reserve, expected to miss significant time. The two-year, $16 million extension he signed in August was supposed to anchor the linebacker corps through 2027. He played one game.

The depth chart behind him lists Jake Hansen first and Jake Hummel — currently listed as doubtful — second. That's thin, and it matters more here than it would on most rosters. Houston's entire offseason logic was built around stopping opponents before games got close enough to test the Texans in the fourth quarter. Last year they went just 6-4 in games decided by a touchdown or less, and the three extensions — Anderson, Clowney, To'oTo'o — were the answer to that specific problem. Losing a piece of that answer in Week 1 is not a small thing.

It also lands on top of Kayden McDonald's ankle, which I noted Saturday. The defensive interior and the linebacker group are both thinner than Houston planned, and the season hasn't started in any meaningful sense yet. Anderson and Clowney are still there. The edges remain formidable. But the middle of this defense is going to be tested by whoever they face next, and right now the names behind the starters are ones that haven't been tested much at all.