- Houston Texans inside linebacker Brian Cushing has returned to the team this week, following a 10 game suspension for violating the NFL performance-enhancing drug policy. Head coach Bill O’Brien told reporters that the team would evaluate his conditioning before promoting him to the active roster.
- One of the team’s leaders on the defensive side of the ball, Cushing played 78.2 percent of his team’s defensive snaps in 2016, and produced a PFF overall grade of 76.5, good for 33rd among 88 qualifying inside linebackers.
- Cushing will certainly be hoping he can return to the team in 2016 form, where he proved to be one of the most complete linebackers in the game. Against the run, he tallied 28 stops and ranked fifth among 60 qualifying inside linebackers with a run-stop percentage of 11.5 percent. In coverage, he led the all inside linebackers in yards allowed per cover snap (0.37), cover snaps per reception (22.7) and cover snaps per target (17.0).
- In Cushing’s absence, inside linebackers Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney have played well, earning PFF overall grades of 78.2 and 75.7, 26th and 32nd among 99 players at the position this year, respectively, which is likely why the coaching staff are happy to take their time to evaluate Cushing before promoting him to the active roster.
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