The Houston Texans put Ka’imi Fairbairn on injured reserve Wednesday, meaning their starting kicker will miss at least the first three games of the season.
Fairbairn, 27, pulled a muscle during pregame warmups ahead of the team’s final preseason game against Tampa Bay on Aug. 28.
The Texans did not name a replacement for Sunday’s Week 1 game vs. Jacksonville. The team signed former Carolina kicker Joey Slye to its practice squad Tuesday.
“We’re not sure yet,” Texans coach David Culley said Wednesday. “We’ll find out this week.”
Fairbairn has kicked in 64 games for the Texans in his four seasons in the league. He made 87.1 percent of his field goal attempts last season, along with 37 of 40 PAT attempts. He led the league in both FG attempts (42) and makes (37) in 2018.
The Texans also signed veteran wide receiver Danny Amendola.
Amendola, 35, played the last two seasons in Detroit, catching just one touchdown in 29 games (15 starts). He has 593 catches and 21 TDs for his career.
In addition to trading cornerback Bradley Roby to New Orleans earlier Wednesday, the Texans added CB Jimmy Moreland off waivers and signed CB Cre’Von LeBlanc to their practice squad.
On Monday, the Texans announced Charlie Heck, pegged to be the team’s starter at right tackle after a breakout preseason, will miss Week 1 after testing positive for COVID-19.
–Field Level Media