(SportsRadio 610) - Veteran wide receiver Noah Brown's season is over and the Texans have signed Houston-area native Steven Sims from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of their AFC divisional matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
Brown played in 10 games for the Texans this season, playing a key role in both the passing and running game. His best stretch was the back-to-back 100-yard games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals, both close wins for Houston.
Brown caught all six of his targets Nov. 5 against he Bucs for 153 yards and a touchdown. He caught seven passes for 172 yards the following week against the Bengals. For the season, Brown had 33 catches for 567 yards.
He was questionable for last Saturday's wild-card game against the Cleveland Browns with a back injury, then left the game early with a shoulder injury.
"It's really tough losing Noah," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said Tuesday. "Noah has been great for us all year. When he's been there and been available, Noah's made clutch plays in critical moments, big-time plays. You talk about the Cincinnati game, the Tampa Bay game, those big games, those pivotal games that we won, that was because of Noah and the play-making that he made for us. It hurts losing Noah. We were really excited to get him back.
"It's going to be tough, but we have to replace him. Somebody has to step up and be able to make those plays. We'll add Steven Sims to the roster and Steve brings a dynamic ability in the return game, which I think that will help us this week. Also, just being able to utilize him on offense as well, with his speed, his play-making ability."
Sims, a Fort Bend Travis product, was signed Tuesday from the Texans' practice squad to the active roster.
Sims played in three games for Houston this year, returning four punts for 49 yards and three kickoffs for 71 yards. He caught two passes for 25 yards in the Nov. 19 win over the Arizona Cardinals and recovered a fumble in the 19-16 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans on Dec. 17.
