NFL Week 15 picks: Consider Seahawks, Chargers and Texans
Lorenzo Reyes suggests picking against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15 Locks.
- Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. will miss this week’s game against the Houston Texans due to a heel injury.
- Head coach Jonathan Gannon does not believe the injury will be season-ending for Harrison.
Marvin Harrison Jr. is once again out this week with a heel injury, Arizona Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon announced. The Cardinals travel to Houston to face the Texans.
Harrison returned from appendicitis in Week 13 but suffered a heel injury in that game. After trying to play through the pain, he exited early in the fourth quarter and did not return. He then missed last week’s loss to the Rams.
Gannon said he does not expect Harrison’s injury to be season-ending. After the Texans game, the Cardinals close out their season with the Falcons, Bengals and Rams. Only the Falcons game is at home.
“He’s doing a lot better,” Gannon said.
In three games without Harrison this season, Michael Wilson has excelled in the top wide receiver role. He’s averaging 12 catches for 148 yards per game in those contests. Needless to say, both marks would lead the NFL over a full season.
Meanwhile, in 10 games with Harrison, Wilson is averaging just three catches for 27 yards.
This week, though, he gets his toughest test yet, against a Texans defense that is allowing the fewest points in the NFL.
The Cardinals will have to combat that test with a severely depleted roster, even beyond Harrison.
Gannon also announced that the Cardinals are without left tackle Paris Johnson Jr. (knee), safety Jalen Thompson (hamstring), safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson (ankle) and cornerback Max Melton (heel).
Running back Emari Demercado (ankle) and defensive tackle Walter Nolen (knee), though, could return this week.
“We’ll see how the day goes,” Gannon said when asked about both players.
Demercado would likely step back into his role as the Cardinals’ passing-down back, working in tandem with Bam Knight, who is their lead early-down back. That passing-downs role has become valuable in recent weeks, as the Cardinals have often trailed.
Michael Carter, who has stepped in for Demercado, has out-snapped Knight in each of the past three weeks, despite Knight being the nominal starter.
