Second year wide receiver Jayden Higgins is believed to have suffered a torn ACL at Tuesday’s joint practice between Houston and Las Vegas after landing awkwardly during 11 on 11 drills.
The season ending injury is a major blow to the Texans’ wide receiver room as the 23 year old blossomed down the stretch in 2025 and was expected to operate as the team’s clear number 2 behind Pro Bowler Nico Collins. Higgins was slow to get up on Tuesday, but eventually limped off under his own power.
While head coach DeMeco Ryans told reporters afterwards that the team was evaluating the severity of the injury, Ian Rapoport announced that the sophomore pass catcher did in fact tear the ligament.
With Higgins out of the picture, Houston suddenly has a precariously thin wide receiver group. 2023 sixth round pick Xavier Hutchinson figures to take on a more prominent role as both Tank Dell and Jaylin Noel continue to work their way back from injury. Neither Dell nor Noel have gotten much in the way of game speed reps to date, as the former is rehabbing a gruesome leg injury while the latter has been hampered with a hamstring strain.
Higgins hauled in 41 passes for 525 yards and 6 TDs in 2026. More importantly, he was became a major red zone and middle of the field target for Texans QB C.J. Stroud as the season wore on. At 6’4″, his large frame proved a difficult matchup for opposing defenders, and won’t be something that any of the current Texans wide receivers will be able to easily replicate.
That’s led some to believe that given the injuries that Dell and Noel are working their way back from, and Higgins now being out for the season, that Houston could be in the market for a late camp addition via free agency. Tyreek Hill, DeAndre Hopkins, Sterling Shepard, and Tyler Lockett are amongst some of the recognizable names still without a home this offseason.
Whether GM Nick Caserio opts to bring in outside help, or elevate some of his existing WRs into more high leverage roles will be an interesting sub-plot for Houston as their September 13th season opener draws nearer.
Photo: Ed Schipul. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.