What happened to Nico Collins? Texans WR limited in practice after injury ahead of Week 4
Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins suddenly became doubtful about playing in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The superstar wide receiver was added to the injury report on Thursday with a hamstring injury and was limited in practice, with an unlikely participation.
Collins is the number one wide receiver for the Houston Texans and his absence would certainly hurt the team. C. J. Stroud's troops are coming from a tough outing against the Minnesota Vikings and need to recover quickly before their season unravels - especially in a divisional game.
It's unclear how the injury happened but hamstring problems are never anything to take it easy. Depending on how it goes, it could be a smart decision to rest him (even in an AFC South matchup) rather than push his hamstring and aggravate the injury.
Collins is leading the Texans in receiving yards in 2024 with 338, which is also the highest number in the league by a big margin. They've added superstar wide receiver Stefon Diggs in a trade with the Buffalo Bills during the offseason, and the veteran could easily slot as WR1 for a week if it's necessary.
With start such as Nico Collins, how far can the Texans go in 2024?
The sky is the limit for DeMeco Ryans' team. Houston was expected to be one of the worst teams in the league during the 2023 season, but on the back of a fantastic rookie season for C. J. Stroud, they not only were able to make the playoffs. They also won the division and won a postseason game, before ultimately losing out to Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.
Expectations are going to be even higher now. While they didn't have a first-round pick available, they were able to get some good values in the 2024 draft. Yes, the loss against the Vikings was bad, but every time a quarterback suffers against a defense coached by Brian Flores, it's pretty understandable.
It was just one game. Stroud is already playing at a very high level and there are loads of talent on the roster. Collins is elite. This team can go all the way and give it a good fight in the playoffs.