In the midst of the Houston Texans‘ Week 13 game vs. the Indianapolis Colts, they saw sixth-round rookie safety Jaylen Reed leave in the middle of the game with an arm injury, which reportedly could to be something that sidelines him for the remainder of the 2025 seasom.
Per KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, Reed broke a metal plate in his forearm from a prior surgery in college against the Colts. The break will need to be surgically repaired and has an undetermined timetable for recovery, but there are situations where the Texans’ rookie winds up being placed on Injured Reserve.
“[Jaylen Reed] broke a metal plate inside his forearm and will need to have it surgically repaired, per a league source… His recovery time for this latest injury is undetermined.”
“There are scenarios where the Texans ostensibly could give Reed time to heal instead of placing him on injured reserve immediately, which would end his season. He was previously on injured reserve with a sprained knee before being activated after getting hurt during training camp.”
Texans S Jaylen Reed Likely to Miss TIme
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety Jaylen Reed (23) celebrates after a play during the game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
It’s a tough loss for the Texans’ defense and their already-depleted secondary for any time that Reed misses, coming in just the first game that the rookie was named one of Houston’s starting safeties in the back end.
Reed started his year off late due to being on the Injured Reserve list for the first half of the season, but as of his breakout night vs. the Buffalo Bills, has started to carve out a notable role in Houston’s defense, especially paired with the season-ending injury to safety M.J. Stewart.
In seven games and one start, Reed logged 14 combined tackles and one fumble recovery. Against the Colts, he had two assisted tackles before being taken out of the game.
Now, the Texans will have to pivot once again on the defensive end by filling in a new starting safety for possibly the rest of the season, but at least the next couple of weeks as Reed heals up.
As to some possibilities for how Houston fills in for the absence of Reed, they could look to elevate one of their practice squad guys to a bigger role like Myles Bryant or Jalen Mills, as they have before this season, or they could task Jalen Pitre with some more work at safety outside of his typical work as the starting nickel.
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