Brian Cushing needs about two more months to rehab
Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing (56) against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs defeated the Texans 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Major knee injuries are nothing new for Houston Texans star inside linebacker Brian Cushing, and the Texans were dealt another crushing blow on defense when Cushing tore his LCL and broke his left leg in late October. He was obviously out for the season, and the amount of rehab time expected for the 26-year-old USC product was set at three months. That would put him on track to be fully recovered in late January, but it looks like Cushing will need a little bit more time.
According to a tweet from Texans official site beat writer Drew Dougherty, Cushing stated that he will need between a month-and-a-half and two months to rehab on his knee until he is fully recovered. While that extends his time-table a bit, it does mean that he will be 100% sometime in early March or late February. That’s definitely before any offseason programs begin, so Cushing will be on track to return a few months before OTAs open up for the Texans.
Cushing recorded 48 tackles in seven games last season, and he is one of the game’s most talented inside linebackers. There is little doubt that he’s an excellent playmaker, and he’s a much better coverage LB than Darryl Sharpton. Aside from J.J. Watt and Jonathan Joseph, there isn’t a more important player to the Texans defense, and he might be more important than Joseph anyway because he’s better than Joseph (it’s just that the secondary is horrifically bad whenever Joseph goes down).