Texans place Thomas, Kayvon Webster and Brian Peters on IR

The Houston Texans placed receiver Demaryius Thomas, cornerback Kayvon Webster and inside linebacker Brian Peters on injured reserve, the team announced Monday.

Thomas ruptured his Achilles tendon during Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and Webster suffered a thigh injury. The nature of Peters' injury remains undisclosed. Thomas will require surgery, and his loss represents a big blow for the Texans. "Yeah, no doubt. Demaryius is a great player, excellent pro, but (we) feel good about the guys that we have and also some of the moves we may make to help that position," Houston coach Bill O'Brien told reporters. "Feel good about the guys. We have strong guys on the roster. We have strong guys on the practice squad. We've got, I think, a strong wide receiver group.

"I think we can do some things to take up the slack there a little bit. It'll be a loss because he was such a good pro and a mentor and all of those things that we've always said about him, but we have to move forward." Thomas was acquired in a midseason trade from the Denver Broncos. He has 23 catches for 275 yards and two touchdowns in seven games with Houston and his overall season totals are 59 receptions for 677 yards and five scores. One possible reinforcement is rookie Keke Coutee, who has missed the past four weeks with a hamstring injury but is close to a return. Coutee has 28 receptions for 287 yards and one touchdown in six games on the season.

"He's worked hard to come back and then he's had a setback, worked hard to come back, had a setback," O'Brien said in regards to whether Coutee might play in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. "So, we'll see how it goes this week. He's a really good, young player. We like him. We just have to see how it goes this week." Webster was activated off injured reserve on Saturday to play in his second game with the team. Webster tore his Achilles with the Los Angeles Rams last December. After being signed with the Texans, he wasn't ready to play until Week 5 but he played just two snaps against the Dallas Cowboys before suffering a quadriceps injury. Peters is one of the team's top special teams' performers. Houston also promoted receiver Steven Mitchell Jr. to the active roster.