Through the first five weeks of the 2024 NFL season, Nico Collins was looking like arguably the best wide receiver in the league. This season, Collins is averaging 113.4 yards per game — no other player is even averaging 99 yards per game. Perhaps most impressive is that Collins left his fifth game in the second quarter, and he’s still the league leader. Through the first four games, Collins averaged 122.3 yards per contest.
Collins has been sidelined for a month with an injury, but will he return in Week 10 when the Houston Texans face the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football? Let’s examine the latest update on Collins’ status.
The Latest on Nico Collins’ Injury
Collins got hurt while scoring a 67-yard touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5.
He blew past the secondary and was able to make it to the end zone, but he pulled up lame toward the end of the play and seemed to be in pain.
CJ TO NICO 67 YARDS!
📺: #BUFvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/0wfq5acJXl— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
Initially, reports were that Collins might only miss a week or two. However, further testing revealed a more significant strain, prompting the Texans to place the star receiver on IR.
A stint on IR requires players to miss the next four games, which Collins did.
Will Collins Play in Week 10?
After reports that Collins was progressing quickly and hadn’t experienced any setbacks, the Texans designated him to return from IR on Friday afternoon.
That puts him on track to play in Week 10 when the Texans will face the Lions on Sunday Night Football.
Be sure to check the Texans’ injury report this weekend to make sure he doesn’t experience a setback of any kind and see if he’s good to go for Sunday night.
The fact that this game is on Sunday Night Football complicates things for fantasy football managers, as if he is a last-minute scratch for some reason, there won’t be many pivot options for your lineup.
How Has Collins’ Absence Affected the Texans?
While the Texans stayed afloat and improved to 6-3, there’s no question that they missed their superstar receiver.
Throughout the first five weeks of the season, C.J. Stroud was averaging 277 passing yards per game. In the four games that Collins missed, Stroud’s average dipped to 188.5 passing yards per game.
In the last four games that Collins started, over 75% of Houston’s yards came through the air. In the four games he was out, just 54.9% of their yards have come via passes.
It’s worth noting that Joe Mixon’s early-season injury and Stefon Diggs’ Week 8 ACL tear may have contributed to this decline, but there’s no question that this offense is at its best when Collins is on the field.
Now, with Diggs out for the remainder of the season, getting Collins back is even more important.
Last week, Stroud completed just 11 passes in Houston’s 21-13 loss to the New York Jets. Tank Dell assumed the WR1 role, catching six passes for 126 yards. But aside from Dell, the only other players to catch a pass were Robert Woods (two receptions for 44 yards) and Dalton Schultz (three receptions for 21 yards).