ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports Braden Smith suffered an injury to his plantar fascia and could miss “a few weeks.”

27 August 2026

The good news is that, according to Schefter, the injury isn’t considered a long-term issue. It’s still unclear if Smith will be ready for Week 1. Houston signed Smith to a two-year, $25 million deal in the offseason. He was set to compete with Trent Brown for the starting right tackle job, but this could give Brown the inside track early in the year. As long as Smith is back early in the year, Houston should have the necessary tackle depth to survive this injury.