HOUSTON, TX - JANUARY 03: An injured Duane Brown #76 of the Houston Texans is carted off the field while playing agains the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first quarter on January 3, 2016 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

HOUSTON (CBS HOUSTON) – Duane Brown is done for the year and headed for surgery on Wednesday according to Texans head coach Bill O’Brien.

The quad injury that ended Brown’s year also took an important cog from the Texans. And not just on the field as the team’s left tackle.

“From the day I arrived here Duane has been one of the leaders of this football team,” O’Brien said Monday.

“One of the best left tackles in football. Always out there at practice. Always in early, staying late, meeting extra, working in the weight room. Doing everything you would want a leader to do.”

Brown has missed just two games in the past two years. He missed the loss in Carolina and the win the following week in Houston against Tampa Bay in weeks two and three of the season.

“We’re gonna miss him, next guy’s going to have to step up.”

That next guy that has to step up is Chris Clark.

O’Brien liked what he say from Clark in the short stint filling in for Brown and noted Clark is ready for this upcoming atmosphere.

“He’s played in a Super Bowl as a starter,” he said. “He knows what it means to play at this time of the year in this league.

“He’s a really good veteran presence. He’s got good leadership skills. The guys know he’s going to go in there and do his job because he’s played for a long time.”

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