HOUSTON -- Houston Texans inside linebacker Benardrick McKinney will be put on injured reserve and is expected to be out for the season, a source confirmed to ESPN on Monday.
The Houston Chronicle first reported that McKinney will need shoulder surgery. McKinney did not play in the Texans' Week 5 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Linebacker Tyrell Adams played in McKinney's place opposite Zach Cunningham on Sunday, playing 89% of Houston's defensive snaps, while inside linebacker Dylan Cole did not play a defensive snap.
"T.A. [Adams], he stepped in and made some plays," interim head coach Romeo Crennel said Monday. "That's the name of this business, the next guy up. We tell them that all the time that they have to be ready when their number is called, and yesterday the guys whose numbers were called, they performed well."
McKinney, who had 37 tackles in four games, is playing on a five-year, $50 million contract extension he signed in 2018.
McKinney was drafted by the Texans in the second round in 2015. He has 11.5 career sacks, 530 tackles and four forced fumbles.