Clinton Portis practiced again Thursday and believes he will be entirely ready for Sunday's game against the Houston Texans. "They can expect a full-throttle Portis," Portis said. "It's no setbacks or limited plays for me."

Texans' rookie left tackle Charles Spencer was lost for the season on Sunday. Spencer suffered a fractured tibia, the bone in his lower left leg, on a running play. He was replaced by Ephraim Salaam, a nine-year veteran who is playing in his first season with the Texans. "It's really sad," coach Gary Kubiak said. "The kid's going to be a great player. He needed this year. Now he's going to have to sit back and watch, but there's nothing you can do about it."

It has been easy for every armchair GM to be laughingly critical about the Texans' selection of Mario Williams, but Tony Dungy disagrees with the sentiment. "I'm a defensive guy and the cornerstone to most championship teams is defense, if it's not a quarterback," he said. "To me it's a good pick if you're not passing on a John Elway or a Dan Marino. Guys like Lawrence Taylor and Bruce Smith, they become the cornerstones of great teams. (The Texans) think this is a cornerstone guy. I can absolutely see why they did it."

The Houston Texans acquired running back Samkon Gado from the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Vernand Morency on Wednesday. The trade is pending both players passing physicals with their new team.

The Texans filled their need for a veteran tailback on Sunday evening, reaching agreement with six-year veteran Ron Dayne, who was released by the Broncos one day earlier. Financial details of the one-year deal were not yet available, but the contract is likely for the minimum base salary. First-year Texans head coach Gary Kubiak was the offensive coordinator in Denver and is thus familiar with Dayne. And since the Texans have installed an offense similar to the Broncos' design, Dayne will not need a learning period before he can contribute.

The Texans placed running back Domanick Davis on injured reserve Saturday, ending his 2006 season. Davis, Houston's top rusher for the last three seasons, has been out for a month with a bone bruise that is causing soreness in his knee. Texans coach Gary Kubiak decided that putting him on injured reserve would be the right thing for the team, but isn't happy about the decision. "He's done everything he can do," Kubiak said. "It's been disappointing for him and disappointing for everybody."