Houston Texans fans like ourselves have been receiving an avalanche of good news related to the Texans team since, like, November. Unfortunately, today is not one of those days. The Houston Texans released their final injury report before the Divisional Round game against the New England Patriots on Sunday, and WR Nico Collins (concussion) is now officially OUT for the game:
The New England Patriots injury report can be found here.
Nico Collins failed to practice any of the last three days, meaning
he was not able to clear steps 4 or 5 of the Return-to-Participation protocol. This comes as extremely disheartening news, as the Texans will be facing their greatest challenge yet, the New England Patriots, without their #1 wide receiver. QB CJ Stroud will have his work cut out for him, and he’ll need to produce while targeting WRs Christian Kirk, Jayden Higgins, and Jaylin Noel. What’s more disheartening, Patriots’ star CB Christian Gonzalez recently cleared concussion protocol and will be active in the Divisional Round game, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport:
In addition to WR Nico Collins missing the trip to New England, the Texans also ruled out WR Justin Watson (concussion) and listed RT Trent Brown (ankle) as questionable. LG Tytus Howard has plenty of experience at Brown’s position, but Houston’s best combination of lineman this year has included Trent Brown as a starter, so missing him in the biggest game would only add onto the difficulties the offense will face.
In a morsel of good news, Houston’s late-season surprise, RB Jawhar Jordan, seems to have recovered enough from his high-ankle sprain (suffered in week 18 vs. Indianapolis Colts) to be an active player against the Patriots. Even though RBs Woody Marks and Nick Chubb precede him on the depth chart, Jordan’s punishing rushing style earned him many fans in his limited action at tail end of the season. Without Collins and possibly without Brown, the Texans offense will need every player they can get on the field to contribute, so Jordan’s return to the lineup is welcome news.
What do you think? Will CJ Stroud suffer greatly without Nico Collins on the field, or will the combination of Christian Kirk and Houston’s ground game tear the Patriots defense a new one? Will Stroud perform like a pro-bowler without Collins, like he did against the San Francisco 49ers in week 8, or will Pats’ CBs Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis make him suffer? Let us know in the comments below! For me…I’m very, very worried about how Stroud will look without Collins out there with him, but one game in particular during Stroud’s rookie year gives me confidence that he can handle whatever Carlton Davis throws at him…
Go Texans!!!!
