The Houston Texans have placed WR Nico Collins on injured reserve after the NFL’s receiving yards leader suffered a hamstring injury in his team’s Week 5 victory over Buffalo. As a result, he will miss at least the next 4 games for Houston.
Collins’ status for Week 6 seemed like it was a long shot on Monday when head coach DeMeco Ryans listed his star receiver as “week-to-week” when addressing the media. The 25 year old is believed to have sustained the injury on his 67 yard touchdown reception in the 1st quarter.
“Of course, with the hamstring, it takes a couple weeks for hamstrings, so we’ll evaluate that on a week-to-week basis to see when we can get him back,” Ryans said Monday.
“Nico has been the best receiver in the NFL this year,” Ryans continued. “So, do you replace him? No. Everybody just steps up and whatever role you’re asked to do, just step up and play your role the proper way.”
“There is one Nico, he’s done a great job of that. Now, whoever is next, when your number is called, make the plays that you are supposed to make.”
Across 5 games, the 6’4″ wideout has hauled in 32 receptions for 567 yards and 3 TDs. His injury shortened game vs. Buffalo last week was the lowest reception and yardage total of the season, which is quite the feat given the fact that he was up to 78 yards on the day prior to the setback.
After breaking into the league in 2021 as a 3rd round draft pick out of Michigan, Collins has increased his receptions, yardage, and touchdown totals every year in the NFL. With their star wideout sidelined, Houston will lean on recent acquisition Stefon Diggs and sophomore Tank Dell to fill the void offensively.
The Texans are in action against the New England Patriots on Sunday in a 1pm ET showdown in Foxborough.
Photo: Ed Schipul. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.