National Football League

Patriots' Rob Gronkowski will be active against the Texans

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:10 p.m. ET

Andrew Lynch

Despite a 2-0 start to the 2016 season, the New England Patriots are dealing with a veritable slew of injuries. On Thursday, the team received some good news just hours before kickoff against the Houston Texans.

Rob Gronkowski will be active as the Patriots host the Texans on Thursday night. Gronkowski had missed New England's first two games of the season with an injured hamstring.

Houston is third in the NFL in passing defense, having surrendered just 357 total yards through the air through two games. Yet even with Tom Brady on the sideline, New England has managed to put together a top-10 passing offense, tallying 561 yards in two games. Some of that is likely due to a high number of possessions through two weeks, however, as the Patriots also boast a top-10 rushing offense.

The Patriots will be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who started Weeks 1 and 2 as Tom Brady serves his four-game suspension for Deflategate. Garoppolo injured his shoulder in the first half of New England's win over the Miami Dolphins and is inactive this week, the team announced. Jacoby Brissett is slated to start against the Texans — which would mark the first time the Patriots have started a rookie quarterback since Drew Bledsoe in 1993 — with reports indicating that wideout Julian Edelman prepared this week for the possibility of being the backup QB.

Other inactives for New England are linebacker Dont'a Hightower (knee), running back D.J. Foster, guard Jonathan Cooper (foot), cornerback Eric Rowe (ankle), offensive lineman LaAdrian Waddle and tight end A.J. Derby.

Receiver Braxton Miller, quarterback Brandon Weeden, safety Eddie Pleasant, linebacker Brian Cushing, tackle Duane Brown, guard Oday Aboushi, and defensive end Devon Still are listed as inactive for the Texans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.