HOUSTON – Texans Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins isn’t practicing due to a concussion suffered Monday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his availability for a Sunday playoff game appears unlikely.
Collins is in the NFL concussion protocol. Under NFL guidelines governing head injuries, he will need to have his symptoms stop to return to practice and pass a baseline neurological exam to be medically cleared to play.
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The Texans travel for an AFC divisional round playoff game Sunday against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
Collins didn’t practice Wednesday along with wide receiver Justin Watson, who’s also in the NFL concussion protocol, offensive tackle Trent Brown (knee, ankle) and defensive end Denico Autry (knee).
Depending on when his symptoms subside and if the Texans advance to the AFC championship game, Collins could return at some point. Every player has different recovery times. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and nickel Jalen Pitre each missed three games with concussions during the regular season.
“As everyone knows, it takes time,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of Collins’ status. “Each guy heals differently at different places. So, we’ll see how the week goes for Nico. But, as of right now, he’s in the concussion protocol.”
Collins was carted off the field during the third quarter of a 30-6 wild-card round victory after his head struck the ground hard. As Collins attempted to catch a pass with Steelers corner Joey Porter Jr. in coverage, the crown of his helmet crashed into the ground.
The unforgiving hard surface of Acrisure Stadiumand the force of the blow knocked Collins out of the game. He was slow to get up and went to the blue medical tent for further evaluation with trainers
With a towel over his head, Collins was then taken off the field in a cart to the locker room. After the game, Collins was walking around and still obviously feeling some effects of the head injury.
This marks Collins’ second concussion of the season. Previously, he missed the next game when he was in the NFL concussion protocol. That is fairly standard in the NFL when it comes to concussions.
“We’ll see how the week goes,” Ryans said of Collins, his leading receiver with 71 catches for 1,117 yards during the regular season.
Without Collins, the Texans leaned heavily on veteran wide receiver Christian Kirk. And Kirk delivered his top performance with the Texans since joining the team in an offseason trade. He caught eight passes for 144 yards and one touchdown on nine targets.
If Collins can’t return, the Texans will lean on Kirk in addition to rookie Jayden Higgins, backup Xavier Hutchinson and tight end Dalton Schultz.
“Obviously, Nico is a big part of what we do, and it’s a big loss with him going down, but we’re a senior group,” Kirk said. “We’re one unit, and any of us at any moment can step up and be able to fill the void and make plays when they’re needed to happen My number was called, and glad that I was able to step up in those moments.”
NOTE: Texans rookie safety Jaylen Reed, who returned from forearm surgery and was activated from injured reserve, started and recorded three tackles. He briefly left the game with a minor knee injury and was replaced by Myles Bryant, but returned to action.
Reed played 82 percent of the snaps in his first game back since damaging a metal plate in his forearm on a tackle of Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor.
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com