The Houston Texans look to be in front of a tough test ahead as Week 2 presents them with a battle against the Cincinnati Bengals. However, it’s even tougher than anticipated as they won’t have wide receiver Nico Collins available.
As reported by plenty of outlets, including Adam Schefter of ESPN, Nico Collins is missing today’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals because of a hamstring injury he suffered in practice last week.
The injury happened on Wednesday and couldn’t practice on Thursday and Friday. Hence, the Texans officially ruled him out. The silver lining is that team doctors don’t believe the issue is serious or long-term.
Texans WR depth chart vs Bengals without Collins
The Texans WR room is already very thin. They lost WR2 Jayden Higgins to an ACL tear before the beginning of the season, Tank Dell is on IR, and now Collins is out. Hence, who will CJ Stroud throw to now?
CJ Stroud on Kayshon Boutte:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) September 17, 2026
“He knows how to get open. I know we didn’t connect on a couple of em but we’re still building that chemistry but he knows how to get open and play fast.” pic.twitter.com/Hu2dWvELB4
- Kayshon Boutte
- Xavier Hutchinson
- Jaylin Noel
- Jalyn Bond
Who will be the primary weapons for CJ Stroud vs Bengals?
Kayshon Boutte immediately steps up as the team’s WR1 against the Bengals. Then, it’s tight end Dalton Schultz the one who could get plenty of targets as he is already an escape valve for Stroud. Now, he will also be primarily his best target.
Stroud needs to be sharp and witty, as the Bengals have a revamped defensive line that will be able to stop the run and put pressure on him. Hence, he needs to make his progressions fast and be accurate.
