HOUSTON -- On first glance, it's hard to call Tony Boselli a mistake first round pick for the Houston Texans in the expansion draft. He's a five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle and judged by many as a future Hall of Famer.

He would have made a big difference in the development of the offensive line and maybe kept No. 1 draft pick David Carr from leading the NFL in being sacked.

But what if he never plays again? Then, the Texans might have to acknowledge they miscalculated. They might even wonder if they were misled.

When the Texans announced they were giving up on Boselli playing this season by placing him on injured reserve on Tuesday, questions immediately rose about his career being over before it's time.

Boselli isn't playing but his $7.5 million salary cap hit continues, leaving a growing crowd to wonder if the Texans made a mistake.

If so, owner Bob McNair isn't ready to acknowledge it.

"This is the sort of thing we're faced with all the time,'' McNair said. "High quality players are a great value and there is a high price tag. We planned all this in our salary cap and this is where we stand.''

Boselli underwent four operations, three on his right shoulder, in the past year since being placed on injured reserve last season by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He was making progress in getting strong enough to get back on the field. Once he started workouts in September, he had less time for weight lifting to increase his strength.

It finally became obvious to the Texans that Boselli would not be ready to help this season.

"It's a matter now of making the decision what's best for Tony Boselli and moving forward,'' McNair said. "He needs to get his strength up and to do that it means more time on rehabilitation and no time on the practice field.''

The Texans were aware of Boselli's medical history when they chose him to anchor their offensive line in February. He was examined by Texans doctors who thought Boselli would be able to return this season.

Boselli, contacted by ESPN.com, declined to elaborate on how much he knew about his shoulder injuries when he was with the Jaguars, other than to say, "I'm dealing with more than I thought I was dealing with."

However, Boselli said he has no plans to take any legal action against the firm that originally operated on his shoulder. Boselli's agent, Jack Mills, had suggested in August that he would not "rule out" a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Jaguars team doctor who had originally operated on his shoulder. But when asked by ESPN.com on Wednesday about pursuing that option, Boselli said, "I'm not thinking that way right now."

In May, Boselli testified on behalf of former teammate Jeff Novak in Novak's medical malpractice suit against Jacksonville Orthopaedic Institute, the Jaguars' team doctor. Portions of his videotaped testimony were shown when the lawsuit went to trial in July. A jury award of $5.35 million to Novak was later thrown out by the trial judge, and the lawsuit was later resolved in a confidential manner.

Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin says Jacksonville left Boselli unprotected because of the team's bloated salary cap, not injuries.

General manager Charley Casserly will only acknowledge the precarious nature of signing injured players.

"It's our responsibility to evaluate the information given to us,'' Casserly said. "There is an element risk any time you take a player that has not played for you. In my mind we took the information that was given to us and made the best decision available to us.''

The uncertainty of Boselli's health, along with injuries to Ryan Schau and Ryan Young, have kept offensive line coach Tony Marciano continually shuffling his players.

Rookie second round draft pick Chester Pitts was moved from guard to Boselli's left tackle spot on the first day of practice and has started all five games.

With Boselli settled on injured reserve and Schau and Young ready to return to the mix, the offensive line should be able to get some consistency with a set group of starters and backups.

However, Pitts wasn't bothered by playing at a borrowed position.

"I knew it was Tony's position and I was filling in,'' Pitts said. "I knew that from the jump. It didn't matter to me. If Tony came back I was going to go somewhere else (on the line). As long as I'm on the field, I'm all right.''

Young could get his first playing time of the season after recovering from groin surgery and Schau played last week against Buffalo. At least the Texans now have more healthy parts.

"I would imagine if I came back and didn't play well the air wouldn't be cleared,'' Young said. "Tony's not going to make it back. With him it's pretty much set but for the 0-line, just about anything could happen.''

The Texans hope everything bad already has happened.