Owen Daniels out for season with torn ACL

The Houston Texans' fantastic passing game will have to move on without one of its top performers. Tight end Owen Daniels left Sunday's game versus the Buffalo Bills in the first quarter with a sprained right knee, but everyone thought the news would be much worse. A MRI on Monday confirmed everyone's worst fears: Daniels tore the ACL in his right knee and is done for the year. Daniels was hurt on the team's second series of the game. While running a route he planted, made his cut and went down.

Fantasy Analysis:
Thinking more than about just fantasy football, this is really tough luck for Daniels, who suffered similar major knee injuries in high school and college. But yes, it's a huge blow to the Texans and fantasy owners as Daniels was on pace for 80 catches, 1,038 yards and 10 touchdowns. Houston's offense ranks third in the NFL in passing yards and will miss Daniels, but there are still plenty of weapons here. If you are a Daniels owner, I don't think you want either of his replacements -- Joel Dressen or James Casey -- on your team. This injury could mean that Kevin Walter gets more opportunities to break out of his season-long slump. Jacoby Jones and Andre' Davis could be somewhat valuable as well, and of course, Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton still remain big factors in the passing game (even if Slaton's workload is uncertain right now). I don't think this offense (read: Matt Schaub) will be affected too much by this loss, but there may be a small adjustment period. It's never good to lose one of the tight ends in the game.

Players Involved:
WR Walter, Kevin, HOU
TE Dreessen, Joel, HOU
TE Daniels, Owen, HOU
WR Jones, Jacoby, HOU
TE Casey, James, HOU

Team Involved:
HOU  

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