No matter how you look at it, injuries are going to play a key role in the Houston Texans' Week 5 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens. At this point, it's well-documented that Baltimore is perhaps the most impacted team in the NFL by injuries, with Lamar Jackson, Roquan Smith, Nnamdi Madubuike and Marlon Humphrey among the many Ravens players expected to miss this Sunday's game.
But the Houston Texans aren't necessarily a picture of perfect health either. Nevermind the fact that the Texans have been without, and will continue to be without, starting running back Joe Mixon and starting wide receiver Tank Dell. Beyond that, the Texans are dealing with injuries to numerous key contributors.
Fortunately, it's beginning to look as if Houston will be reasonably healthy come Sunday afternoon.
After missing practice on Wednesday, All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was back on the practice field on Thursday despite a nagging oblique injury suffered a couple of weeks back. Star edge rusher Will Anderson Jr., whose absence during Wednesday's practice set off some alarm bells in H-Town, returned to practice as well.
Anderson, who was given a rest day on Wednesday, does not seem to have any sort of injury designation that should be a cause for concern for Texans fans. However, Stingley's status does remain murky, and for the Texans, that could be a major problem moving forward.
“Stingley comes back, he was battling all week just to be able to be out there and he toughed through it,” head coach DeMeco Ryans said of Stingley's Week 4 peformance, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston. “He was able to be out there and not just be there but be productive. He was able to intercept the football for us to change the game.”
The Latest on Texans Wide Receiver Nico Collins
The Texans offense has had its share of issues through the first four weeks of the season, and the last thing this unit needs is to be without its top pass-catcher. This makes Nico Collins' continued stint on the Texans' injury report all the more problematic.
Collins was a limited participant in practice on both Wednesday and Thursday this week with a knee injury, but it doesn't appear as if the 26-year-old wideout is in any danger of missing Sunday's game.
Assuming he's able to play -- and play at near peak level -- this could be the week that the CJ Stroud, Nico Collins connection clicks in a way that Texans fans have been waiting a month for. Thus far this season, Collins has hauled in 18 receptions for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns. At just 65 yards per game, Collins is 20 yards under his per game averages each of the last two seasons.
But against a Ravens defense that has allowed the 2nd-most passing yards in the NFL this season, this game could be a tremendous opportunity for Stroud and Collins to get back on track.