Texans activate Darryl Sharpton from PUP list

It's been a long road but inside linebacker Darryl Sharpton finally made his return to the Houston Texans on Sunday after nearly 55 weeks out of commission.

Sharpton tore his right quadriceps muscle against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 30, 2011 and will make his return against those very same Jaguars on Sunday after being activated by the Texans from their physically unable to perform list. To make room for Sharpton, the Texas waived safety Troy Nolan.

Sharpton first practiced two weeks ago and due to his placement on the PUP list was not eligible to play until after week six. Though his quadriceps injury should have been healed and ready by the preseason, Sharpton had a setback with a hip injury early in training camp. But now he is ready to go for a Texans team that needs depth at linebacker with Brian Cushing out and Tim Dobbins questionable for Sunday's game, leaving Bradie James and Barrett Ruud as the only healthy linebackers.

Defensive coordinator Wade Phillips rewarded linebacker Darryl Sharpton, who came off the physically-unable-to-perform list last week, with a chance to blitz on his first play of the 2012 season. He nearly got a sack.

“It felt great to be back out there,” said Sharpton, who tore a quad tendon against the Jaguars at Reliant Stadium last season. “I wasn’t expecting a game this long or this crazy, but playing football is like riding a bike for me. It clicked the minute I stepped on the field. I felt like I was home.”

Sharpton, who was drafted in the fourth round in 2010, contributed four tackles — one for a loss — and assisted on three others.


(sbnation.com)