Under 24 hours until kickoff, the Houston Gamblers announce their injury statuses and roster updates prior to their week five showdown against the Pittsburgh Maulers.
The Houston Gamblers‘ Twitter account made the announcements Saturday prior to the team taking the field on Sunday. Fans got a lot of good news from the reports that will give them confidence that they will have a good game against the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Houston Gamblers’ Key Returning Players
The biggest name that is returning for the Gamblers is cornerback Jamar Summers who has missed multiple games with an injury. Summers was listed as a full go working through an illness and has moved into the active roster. He has recorded five and a half tackles, one pass deflection, and one fumble recovery. This is great news for Houston as Micah Abernathy and Will Likely have been the only consistent performers in the secondary. Summers returning should give their secondary the boost they needed for the second half of the season.
With Mark Thompson struggling last week, the return of Dalyn Dawkins is much needed to provide that two-headed monster Houston has used offensively this season. Devwah Whaley did a nice job filling in as backup with limited playing time, but with him joining the inactive list, Dawkins will be the number two guy. Another struggling week for Thompson could see Dawkins stepping into a bigger role.
Teo Redding stepping in at wide receiver is critical for a Houston offense that is already losing two of their top four receivers statistically. Redding hasn’t had as much of an impact this season only catching one pass for ten yards. That should change on Sunday filling in as the number three or four receiver on the depth chart.
Linebacker Drew Lewis returns to the defense that should help give some depth to the linebacking core. Lewis has recorded six tackles so far this season. It should help with players like Donald Payne and Reggie Northrup by rotating Lewis in the lineup throughout the game.
Houston Gamblers’ Key Inactive Players
The receiver position takes another big hit for the Gamblers as both JoJo Ward and Tyler Simmons are out for Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh. Ward has been injured this season and returned last week in a big way with a nice touchdown pass from Clayton Thorson in the first half of their loss last week against the New Orleans Breakers.
Ward has recorded nine catches for 79 yards and one touchdown in two games this season. Houston is losing their speedy receiver who can use his quick feet to make defenders miss. He was expected to be their top receiver heading into the season and when he is on the field, fans can see why that is.
Tyler Simmons has been a nice compliment to the passing game when he has stepped in. Simmons has been solid this season with seven catches for 81 yards and a 44-yard touchdown. He had been a nice deep threat option when he has been on the field and a good third option in the passing game.
The offensive line continues to be shorthanded with both Tyler Higby and DreQuan Brown not going to be able to play. Higby had been one of the starting linemen on the offensive line which leaves the unit with fewer players. With the struggles of the running game, the line currently in place will have to step up and create some open lanes for Thompson and Dawkins.
