Texans Owen Daniels making progress, but will not play Thursday

Sep 29, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels (81) is tackled by Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) after making a reception during the third quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Texans 23-20. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Owen Daniels practiced on his own, will not play Thurs. but "had a really good day" & is "making progress." #Texans
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 3, 2013

There is the update from the Houston Texans’ official twitter account. Owen Daniels will not play Thursday against the Jacksonville Jaguars as the team’s play a critical matchup in determining who will have the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. The good news is that Daniels is making progress and given the Texans 2-10 record, it makes sense for them to take their time to get Daniels back healthy rather than getting him back fast.

The season has been a disaster for the Texans and rushing back Daniels and putting him at additional risk for injury would only add injury to insult in this case. Daniels is trying to recover from a leg injury and has caught 24 passes for 252 yards and 3 touchdowns in 5 games for the Texans. Maybe the part they miss most from Daniels is that of those 24 catches, 18 of them were for first downs.