The Buffalo Bills are thin at cornerback.
The Houston Texans are even thinner at wide receiver.
Tank Dell and Jayden Higgins are both on injured reserve and will miss Sunday's season opener, leaving C.J. Stroud without two of Houston's most talented receivers.
That's welcome news for a Bills secondary that kept only three true boundary cornerbacks on its initial 53-man roster: Christian Benford, Maxwell Hairston and rookie Davison Igbinosun.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane acknowledged the unusual numbers after roster cuts but pointed to Buffalo's flexibility. Starting nickel cornerback Dee Alford can play outside, while defensive back Jordan Hancock can play multiple spots in the secondary.
"I feel really good about what's on the 53, I do,"
Beane said. "Assuming you can stay healthy, that's the one thing you can never predict. Obviously Christian speaks for himself. I'm excited about Max, IGB, and Dee Alford."
The Bills visit the Texans at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13 at Reliant Stadium.
Houston still has a bona fide No. 1 receiver in Nico Collins. He has topped 1,000 receiving yards in three consecutive seasons and finished 2025 with 71 catches for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns.
The options behind him look much different than Houston anticipated.
Dell was emerging as one of Stroud's most dangerous weapons before a series of serious injuries interrupted his career.
The Texans selected Dell in the third round, No. 69 overall, in the 2023 NFL Draft. He caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in only 11 games as a rookie before fracturing his fibula in Week 13 of the season.
Dell returned for the start of the 2024 season and had 51 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns before suffering a devastating injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16. Dell caught a touchdown pass from Stroud when teammate Jared Wayne collided with his right leg in the end zone.
Dell dislocated his kneecap and tore multiple ligaments, including the ACL, MCL and LCL. He required multiple surgeries and missed the entire 2025 season.
Dell returned to practice this summer but worked mostly in individual drills and hasn't participated in 11-on-11 work since Aug. 10. Houston placed him on injured reserve during roster cuts, making him ineligible to return until at least Week 5.
"I'd say he's close," Texans general manager Nick Caserio said last week. "He is not quite there."
Higgins won't be returning this season.
Houston selected the 6-foot-4 receiver in the second round, No. 34 overall, in 2025. Higgins caught 41 passes for 525 yards as a rookie and his six receiving touchdowns tied Collins for the team lead.
He was expected to start alongside Collins this season before suffering a torn ACL Aug. 18 during a joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans called the loss "significant."
Houston responded six days later by trading with the New England Patriots for Kayshon Boutte.
Boutte, 24, had 33 catches for 551 yards and six touchdowns last season and gives Houston its most experienced healthy receiver other than Collins. The former sixth-round pick has 78 receptions in 34 career games.
The rest of Houston's healthy receiver group is inexperienced.
Xavier Hutchinson, a 2023 sixth-round pick, has 55 receptions in 49 career games. Jaylin Noel, a third-round pick last year, had 26 catches for 292 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie. Jared Wayne has two receptions in four career games.
Combined, Boutte, Hutchinson, Noel and Wayne have 161 career receptions. Collins has 289 by himself.
Collins still gives Buffalo's thin cornerback group a significant Week 1 challenge.
The Bills just won't have to defend the receiving corps Houston expected to put around him.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills catch break with 2 talented Texans receivers out vs. Buffalo
