The Houston Texans will likely play the Cincinnati Bengals without their best offensive weapon. Nico Collins didn’t practice Thursday after being listed as limited on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. He wasn’t seen at the portion of practice open to the media on Friday.
“The good thing about the offense is we have a lot of guys that we have trust in,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. “I would say this, that we go through our reads, and the ball finds the open guys. 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.”
It’s not if, it’s when Collins misses time.
He’s never played a full season for the Texans. Last year, Collins missed just one regular-season game. The star wideout left the playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and missed the game against the New England Patriots. He missed a crucial five-game stretch in 2024 with a hamstring injury. Even his stellar 2023 season had two missed games. He left another one in the first quarter.
It’s the lone thing keeping Collins from the upper echelon of wideouts.
The 2025 NFL Draft's selection of two wide receivers was at least partly about life without Collins. Jayden Higgins isn’t here to pick up the offense. His season ended last month with a torn ACL.
This wide receiver room, composed of Kayshon Boutte, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, and Jared Wayne, scares no defense. Four additional receivers are on the practice squad. Nobody is coming to save the offense this week.
Hutchinson performed well when Collins missed the 49ers game last year. He isn’t dynamic, but he has the most experience with Stroud among the pass catchers. Wayne has barely played in the NFL, but had an excellent training camp.
“Those guys work,” Caley said. “They work so hard. They love football, and they bring energy to the table. I love what they bring to our receiver room and our offense. I have a lot of confidence in them. Those guys are unselfish. They’re great teammates.”
The two players with the least time with quarterback C.J. Stroud in training camp present the best chance to replicate Collins’ playmaking.
Noel showcased his improvement on offense after he returned from the injuries that robbed him of most of training camp. His two catches on Sunday produced the most yards after Collins. He was wide open for both receptions. Noel is the team’s fastest player. He also has inside-outside versatility.
Boutte has big-play ability. DeMeco Ryans has incessantly praised it. Stroud said they had some plays where they didn’t connect, but that he and Boutte were still building chemistry. Stroud said Boutte can play fast and get open.
