The Texans will welcome back Pro Bowl kick return man Jerome Mathis to the field Sunday in
. The Texans moved Mathis from the Physically Unable to Perform list (PUP) to the active roster Tuesday.
Mathis should take over kick returns starting this weekend in
with Dexter Wynn retaining punt return duties.
Sunday's game will mark Mathis' first action since the Pro Bowl in February.
"He's ready to play," Gary Kubiak said Monday. "It's been a concern of his, his other leg started bothering through his workouts and stuff, but we put a little pressure on him and asked him to prove it to us that he's ready to play and I think he did that last Friday, he did some good work for us and he worked for us Saturday and (Monday). As he said, he's done all he could do, so it's our turn now. I still think it's his turn, but we'll see. He needs to play."
Kubiak added that Mathis should rotate in periodically at wide receiver as well. Known for his speed, Mathis adds another deep threat to a passing attack that racked up over 300 yards last week against the Jets.
The broken bone in his foot that has left him peddling a stationary bike for much of the season is now healed and according to his coach, Mathis is already pretty close to full speed.
"Does Mathis have all his speed? I wouldn't say that he has every bit of it back,
but I would say that he's pretty close," Kubiak said. "You guys know how fast
he is from last year, but it looks like, to me, he's pretty close. And I would
hope that just through repetition and playing that hopefully it does all come
back here before the season's out. But he is totally healed. All the x-rays look
good so I feel good about it."
