RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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The Houston Texans were dealt a devastating blow on Wednesday, with NFL insider Ian Rapoport reporting that second-year wide receiver Jayden Higgins will miss the entire 2026 season after tearing his ACL. Higgins suffered the injury during Tuesday's joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders, and just like that, Houston has lost its No. 2 receiving option.
Higgins was the Texans' second-round pick (No. 34 overall) in the 2025 NFL Draft and put together one of the best rookie receiver seasons in the league, hauling in 41 catches on 68 targets for 525 yards and six touchdowns. A 6-foot-4, 215-pound red-zone threat, Higgins was expected to take another leap this season lining up opposite Nico Collins. Now, the Texans will either have to rely on their remaining depth — 2025 third-round pick Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, or Tank Dell, who's still working his way back from a catastrophic multi-ligament left knee injury — or turn to the free-agent market.
The more realistic path is likely free agency, and one name immediately stands out: DeAndre Hopkins.
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Hopkins spent the first seven years of his NFL career in Houston and is a free agent after spending the 2025 season with the Baltimore Ravens. DHop is 34 now and well past his prime, but he still has some of the best hands in the league and remains a reliable red-zone threat. Last season with the Ravens, he caught 22 passes on 39 targets for 330 yards and two touchdowns.
During his seven seasons in Houston, Hopkins compiled 8,602 receiving yards, 54 touchdowns, and 632 receptions — numbers that still trail only Andre Johnson in franchise history across all three categories. He posted five 1,000-yard seasons, earned five Pro Bowl nods, and three first-team All-Pro selections over that span as well.
He's not that player anymore, but he still has strong ties to the organization, and he's made it clear he wants to sign with a contender. With the Texans already boasting one of the league's best defenses, it's hard not to put them in that category — assuming C.J. Stroud can get back to the 2023 form that made him a Pro Bowler. Hopkins could help with that. And what better way to close out a career than with the team where it all started?
Two other names worth watching: Brandin Cooks, who spent three seasons with the franchise from 2020 to 2022, and Tyreek Hill. Both are reliable veterans — one with existing ties to the organization, and both offering more explosiveness than Hopkins at this stage of his career.
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