While Stefon Diggs could be out for a while, Nico Collins’ time on the injured reserve is almost up.
According to KPRC 2 Sports’ Aaron Wilson, the fourth-year Houston Texans star is trending upward entering Week 9’s matchup against the New York Jets. While he can’t be cleared off the injured reserve until Nov. 4, the expectation is he’ll be good to go when the Detroit Lions arrive in Week 10.
Texans WR Nico Collins (hamstring) is on track to return Week 10, per @AaronWilson_NFL pic.twitter.com/yskQmX6LdV
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) October 27, 2024
Collins was placed on the injured reserve following Week 5’s win over the Buffalo Bills after tweaking his hamstring in the first quarter. The NFL states that when a player goes on the IR, they are required to miss at least four games.
While the Texans’ offense has survived with Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon as the leading option, the addition of Collins could be coming at the right time.
Diggs, who had taken over as the leading receiver in Collins’ absence, left Sunday’s win over the Indianapolis Colts after suffering a non-contact injury to his knee in the third quarter.
Overall, the passing game has suffered. C.J. Stroud threw for a career-worst 86 yards in a Week 7 loss against the Green Bay Packers. Diggs was the only receiver putting up consistent production, while Tank Dell struggled to impress as the tam’s No. 2 option.
The Texans must see improvements from Dell this week since it seems unlikely that Diggs will be cleared after undergoing an MRI on Monday.
At his peak, Collins could be considered a top-five receiver. He led the NFL by nearly 100 yards (576) at the time of his injury and ranked third in reception with 32. The 6-foot-4 target also had posted four 100-yard receiving outings in five games while averaging six catches per contest.
Nico Collins pic.twitter.com/5oHXoqIB8O
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) June 13, 2024
Entering Week 9, Houston ranks eighth in passing yards per game (232.5) and 10th in passing touchdowns (11).
