Azeez Al-Shaair: no practice Wednesday with knee injury

THE FACT. Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair did not practice Wednesday with a knee injury, per NFL.com's Wednesday league roundup and CBS Sports' Week 7 injury report, which both list him as a non-participant.

THE VERDICT. A missed Wednesday for a full-time linebacker is an early-week warning rather than a verdict. IDP: hold him, but line up a replacement in case Friday brings a questionable tag or worse, because his value is tackle volume and volume vanishes on a reduced snap count. Teammate Henry To'oTo'o was limited with a shoulder in the same report, so Houston's linebacker group was not whole Wednesday. Do not cut him over one session.