Texans Wide Receiver Nico Collins Out for Week 2 Against Bengals

Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins has been ruled out of Sunday's Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals due to a hamstring injury. The injury occurred during practice earlier in the week, forcing Collins to miss Thursday and Friday's sessions after being limited on Wednesday.

This setback is particularly concerning for the Texans given Collins' history of soft-tissue injuries throughout his NFL career. In 2024, he missed five games with a similar hamstring issue, and in 2022, he was sidelined for seven games with foot and groin injuries.

Collins had started the current season healthy, catching seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown in the Texans' season-opening loss to the Buffalo Bills. His absence is a significant blow to the Texans' receiving corps, which is already depleted. Second-year receiver Jayden Higgins was lost for the season in August after tearing his ACL in practice.

With Collins sidelined, the bulk of the targets in the passing game are expected to go to tight end Dalton Schultz and receivers Xavier Hutchinson and Kayshon Boutte. Offensive coordinator Nick Caley expressed confidence in the team's depth, stating, "The good thing about the offense is we have a lot of guys that we have trust in... C.J. [Stroud] does a good job distributing the football. I think you saw that last week. We have guys that have a lot of experience with them and have played a lot of football and we’ll go through it like that."

The Texans will need to rely on these remaining options as they aim to avoid an 0-2 start to the season without their top receiving threat.