DeAndre Hopkins hasn't made much progress since suffering a concussion during last Saturday's preseason game between the Houston Texans and the Miami Dolphins. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak told reporters Thursday that the rookie wideout is still in "phase one" of the NFL's concussion protocol, and has been ruled out for this Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, according to Pro Football Talk.
Hopkins still has several league-mandated hoops to jump through, including an inspection by an independent neurologist. There are five phases in the NFL's protocol, giving Hopkins seemingly ample time to be cleared before the Texans' regular season opener in more than two weeks. Of course, concussions can be a bit trickier to deal with than non-neurological ailments.
The Texans drafted Hopkins in the first round the 2013 NFL Draft as a complement to Andre Johnson. The Texans are hoping to groom Hopkins as the go-to threat of the future with Johnson approaching retirement age for an NFL player. Hopkins has been impressive in preseason. During the Texans' first game, he caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback T.J. Yates. Last Saturday, he had two receptions for 22 yards before being knocked out of the contest.
More from SB Nation NFL:
• The 2014 NFL Draft's top 100 prospects
• NFL rosters, as explained by Google image search
• Donovan McNabb, lightning rod for the stupidest s**t in the world