Andre Johnson insists that if his injured hamstring isn’t ready by game time on Sunday, he will not play against the Jaguars this weekend.

Johnson has been out since October 2 when he hurt his hamstring during the Texans’ 17-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. He caught four passes for 36 yards before leaving the game after being attended to on the field by team trainers. While he returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday, Johnson doesn’t sound optimistic about his chances of returning this weekend.

“I felt a lot better in practice, but not where I want to be,” said Johnson, who still feels a “tugging” in the back of his leg. “If I don’t feel like I can play, I’m not going to go out there. I definitely won’t do anything to put myself in any danger.”

While that news might sound deflating to Houston fans (as well as fantasy football owners), it’s probably the mindset Johnson needs to have. If he pushes too hard too soon he could wind up aggravating the injury or making it worse, which would shelve him a lot longer than had he just let it heal. With the Texans in prime position to win the AFC South this year, they’re going to need Johnson down the stretch and into the postseason.

Andre Johnson isn’t 100% healthy. He wasn’t 100% last week and if doctors deem him healthy enough to play this Sunday, he won’t be 100% then either.

With that in mind, should the Texans hold him out against a beatable opponent in the Raiders this Sunday? Or do they run him out there because he’s played through injuries before and every game is vital in the NFL?

Johnson suffered a high ankle sprain against the Redskins in Week 2 and aggravated it in Houston’s loss to Dallas last Sunday. The Texans’ team doctors claim that the injury is no better or worse than what it was a week ago, but Johnson says that it feels “more sore” this week than it did when he played on it in Washington.

If the Texans decide to hold him out in Oakland, that means Matt Schaub will have to get by with Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter in the passing game. It would be nice if tight end Owen Daniels were healthy enough to have an impact, but he’s still trying to recover from knee surgery and the team is taking it slow with bringing him back into the fold.

Houston could probably beat Oakland with a run-first approach and solid defensive play, but every game is crucial in the NFL and no opponent can be overlooked. That’s why if Johnson is healthy enough to play, it’ll be hard for Gary Kubiak to rest him, even though that may be the smart thing to do.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Texans handle things this Sunday. Johnson has played through pain plenty of times before, so he may give it a go and then reassess the situation after a couple of series. If he’s fine, then there’s no reason to keep him on the sidelines.

AJ owners are waiting with bated breath to see whether or not he plays on Sunday. It’s an afternoon game, which complicates matters, because it makes it more difficult to find a last-minute replacement if he is an injury scratch. Ideally, fantasy owners have Jacoby Jones or Kevin Walter to plug in if AJ sits. But that’s not always an option. My gut says that he’ll play; I don’t think he wants to sit knowing that he’ll miss a matchup with Nnamdi Asomugha. Fantasy owners with solid early-game options on the bench — I’m talking about guys ranked in the teens or 20’s — should go ahead and plug them in for AJ. In three matchups with Asomugha, Johnson has totaled five catches for 94 yards and zero touchdowns, so this is a bad matchup, anyway. Throw in the bum ankle and the late-game uncertainty, and it makes more sense to go with the safer option in a better matchup.