Houston Texans Place WR Collins on Injured Reserve

The Houston Texans are shutting down one of their most promising young pass catchers for the rest of the year. The team placed wide receiver Nico Collins on injured reserve Friday afternoon with a foot injury, guaranteeing he'll miss the final three games of the season.

#Texans activate Grayland Arnold, place Nico Collins on IR with foot injury, signed Malik Turner to practice squad
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) December 23, 2022

Collins missed last week's 30-24 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs with the foot injury. The second-year wide receiver will end the season with a career-high 481 receiving yards in 10 appearances.

At 1-12-1, the Texans appear to be deep, deep into the NFL's most successful tank job this season. With only three games left on their slate, they'll likely begin shutting down whatever players they deem part of their future at any excuse. They already placed their promising rookies Dameon Pierce and Derek Stingley Jr. on injured reserve last week.

With three games to play, the Texans presently have a 1.5-game lead in the race for the 2023 NFL Draft's first overall pick. Shockingly, they've flirted with respectability in the past two games, taking the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime in Week 15 and nearly topping the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14. Unfortunately (or thankfully, depending on the Texans' priorities), spectacular late-game collapses sealed devastating losses. The Chiefs recovered a first-down fumble deep in Texans' territory before punching in a game-winning score, and the Cowboys defense stood strong on fourth down on their own goal line to enable a 98-yard game-winning drive.