The Houston Texans are taking on the New York Jets in Week 14 of the NFL season. Wide receiver Nico Collins is questionable to return with a calf injury. This could be significant as Houston is already down Tank Dell, who fractured his leg in last week’s game. Collins brought in his lone target for 13 yards before his injury.
The Houston wide receiver depth will be tested for the remainder of this game. No Dell, no Collins, and no Dalton Schultz (ruled inactive ahead of the game) would leave the main pass-catchers as Noah Brown, Robert Woods, John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson. It will be interesting to see how rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud adjusts to not having his three best pass-catchers.
Nico Collins injury updates
Update: Collins has now officially been ruled OUT for the remainder of the game.
Halftime update: Collins has yet to return to the game. With the weather conditions and the fact that it looks like he re-aggravated a calf injury earlier this season, I’d bet he doesn’t come back for this game.
Fantasy Football Impact
If the first half is any indication, the weather is going to have a bigger fantasy football impact on this game than the lack of Collins. Houston and New York each went into halftime with not only zero points but also a punt on each of their drives. Stroud is only six-of-12 passing for 28 yards. He has completed two passes to tight end Brevin Jordan, with Collins, Hutchinson, Woods and running back Dameon Pierce bringing in the others.
Next week will help determine how badly Collins re-injured his calf. Houston has upcoming games against the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. Their schedule is winnable, which would get them into the playoffs, but that path gets tougher if Collins is hurt. His injury earlier this season contributed into Dell’s getting more targets, so the Texans are looking to see which wide receivers will be able to step up and pick up the slack.
