Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (hamstring) has now missed the required four games every player must sit out after being placed on injured reserve, and he's close to making his long-awaited return. He started off the 2024 season red-hot, and looked like one of the best wideouts in the league before he went down.
Collins racked up an absurd 567 receiving yards and three touchdowns in five games, despite playing less than 20% of the snaps in Week 5 before being pulled with a hamstring issue. He's an elite big play maker, averaging 17.7 yards per catch, and is one of the most efficient WRs on a per-route basis in the league.
So will Collins return for Sunday Night Football and continue to be the fantasy football league-wrecker he started off as?
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Nico Collins Fantasy Football Injury Update
UPDATE: Collins is officially OUT
Collins missed practice Wednesday and Thursday, but was designated to return to practice off injured reserve on Friday. He was able to log a limited session, and was elevated to the active roster and removed from IR. However, his status remains as "Questionable", and it looks like fantasy managers will need to wait a bit longer to find out if he will play.
Rap edited his post from Nico Collins “and will play Sunday” ➡️ “He’s listed as questionable” 🧐 pic.twitter.com/8Bb1oVeRbg
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) November 9, 2024
It looks like he'll be a true game-time decision, creating a nightmare for fantasy managers. There hasn't been any definite news on his status for tonight's game, meaning it will come down to the wire. The final list of inactive players for each team is due 90 minutes before kickoff. The game will start at 8:20 PM ET.
Nico Collins Fantasy Football Injury Impact
If he can play, he's a must-start. He was on track to finish as a top-5 wideout before he got hurt, and had a serious chance of finishing as the overall WR1. He could still lead the league in fantasy points per game when all is said and done. He's utterly elite, and is quarterback C.J. Stroud's clear favorite target.
C.J. Stroud finds Nico Collins for a RIDICULOUS catch 😱
📺: #CHIvsHOU on NBC/Peacock
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/juzYKPSJfP— NFL (@NFL) September 16, 2024
He has a massive array of skills he's used to consistently move the chains and create explosive gains, and he's heavily featured in offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik's passing attack. He could see a slightly limited workload if the team wants to be cautious with his injury, though. Still, it only takes one or two huge plays for him to score double-digit fantasy points.
If he can't play, expect his fellow wideout, Tank Dell (back) to get more targets, and for the team to lean heavily on running back Joe Mixon. The team's other WRs haven't made much of an impact this season.
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