The 2-4 Houston Texans are reeling after Week 7’s 27-19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks this past Sunday.
On a catch attempt early in the fourth quarter, star wide receiver Nico Collins slammed his head on the turf and missed the remainder of the game with a head injury.
Collins was unable to take the field for any practice action this week as he continues to progress through the NFL‘s concussion protocol. The Pro Bowl pass-catcher recorded his third consecutive non-participant designation on Friday, and the assumption is he won’t be active for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Texans are also expected to be without veteran WR Christian Kirk, who was listed as a non-participant on Friday as well.
Collins is Stroud’s best pass-catching weapon. Through the first six games of the 2025 season, the fifth-year WR leads the Texans with 26 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns. He’s recorded at least 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns in each of his previous two seasons.
Collins had four catches for 27 yards before suffering his concussion in Week 7.
“I thought he played really well. I got to find a way to get him to touch the ball. I got to throw him a better ball,” Stroud said after the loss, via ESPN. “That’s just the bottom line. It’s going to be tough. He’s our best player on offense. He’s one of the best players in the league time and time again. We also got to find ways to get him the ball in better situations. So that starts with me trying to get us in the right looks.
“Hopefully he’ll be OK and we have a short week, but if not we got to just step up in other ways, and, you know, put more on my plate hopefully and try to help us out.”
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With Collins and Kirk out, Stroud will likely continue his high pass volume toward tight end Dalton Shultz. Inexperienced pass catchers like Xavier Hutchinson, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel will be asked to step up at the wide receiver position.
Sunday’s game against the 49ers will kickoff at 1 p.m. ET in Houston.
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