In Sunday's win over the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins hauled in a massive 67-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Stroud in what might have been the highlight of the game.
While Collins' touchdown was an eye-popping feat, it was also the play where he endured a hamstring injury. At first, the injury didn't appear to be all that serious, with the Texans calling it "day to day" in hopes that he could return in Week 7 against the New England Patriots.
However, fast forward from Sunday to Monday, and things have escalated a bit.
Collins' injury status was changed and is now "week to week," according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Texans now have changed Nico Collins’ injury designation from “day to day” to “week to week”, a sign that it could be tough for the WR to return in time for Sunday’s game at New England.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 7, 2024
With the way hamstring injuries typically unfold, this is nothing for the Texans to mess around with. If anything, Houston should simply choose to shut Collins down for the week and allow him to do everything necessary to heal.
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Hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger, and if Collins returned too soon, the chance of re-injury is fairly high. It might not seem like that high of a number, but if a player returned from a hamstring injury within two weeks, they typically have a re-injury chance of over 13 percent.
For a team like Houston, with Super Bowl aspirations and still so early in their season, this is nothing to take a chance with. The wide receiver room is deep enough where DeMeco Ryans doesn't have to risk it.
The Texans' wide receiver depth could be put to the test early on
if Collins cannot go in Week 7 against the Patriots, then it'll be on the shoulders of Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell to step up in his place. Diggs has already proven he can still be every bit of a top target, coming off a game where he caught six of eight targets for 82 yards against his former team in the Bills.
Meanwhile, Dell caught all four of his targets for 38 yards and has shown the ability to be a big-play type early in his career. Even Xavier Hutchinson has proven to be a reliable depth option, catching two of three targets for 31 yards against the Bills.
Houston also has Robert Woods and John Metchie III who saw limited action against the Bills, but would see an uptick in usage if Collins were to miss a game.
Luckily, the Patriots appear to be a very winnable matchup early in the year, and the Texans are a much better and more well-rounded team. That Patriots offensive line might be the worst in football, so the Texans' defense very well could score some points over the weekend.
As for Collins, the Texans do need to be cautious, here. They cannot afford to risk it with one of the league's top wideouts.