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Texans rookie center Nick Martin recently had ankle surgery that could keep him out for the entire season and he may not be the only prospective starter missing from the offensive line when Houston starts the regular season.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that left tackle Duane Brown is not expected to be ready to play in Week One because of the torn quadriceps he suffered in the team’s final regular season game last year. Brown is on the physically unable to perform list and the Texans may leave him there when it comes time to make the cut to 53 players in a little more than a week.

That would leave Brown ineligible to play or practice with the team during the first six weeks of the season. The Texans play games in each of those weeks, so Brown’s absence would be a significant one. Chris Clark is listed as the next man up at left tackle on Houston’s depth chart.

If Brown does miss the start of the regular season, the Texans will be left with just a few returning starters from last year’s offense as they try to make another playoff push.