Texans begin life without 'best player on the field' in Jayden Higgins following season-ending injury

Even Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans knew Jayden Higgins was in for a special season.

Following Thursday's 22-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, Ryans officially confirmed that Higgins suffered a torn ACL in Tuesday's joint practice and would miss the rest of the season. A once-promising second-year player in the passing game now must begin to prepare for the 2027 season.

And replacing him with just one player won't be easy.

"It hurt," Ryans said of losing Higgins. "Jayden is a guy I’ve highlighted every time I’ve gotten up & talked because of the work that he’s done in OTAs, throughout training camp; he’s one of our best players, if not arguably the best player on the field when he’s been out there. It’s a significant loss for us, we got a void to fill there. It won’t be easy to fill the void that Jayden is leaving behind.”

DeMeco Ryans on Jayden Higgins being out for the year:

“It hurt. Jayden is a guy I’ve highlighted every time I’ve gotten up & talked because of the work that he’s done in OTAs, throughout training camp, he’s one of our best players, if not arguably the best player on the field… pic.twitter.com/uAE8WmSFYl

During red zone team drills, Higgins ran a route in the end zone and fell awkwardly. He lay there in pain while teammates came to check on him before the medical staff arrived. While the cart was pulled out, Higgins was able to walk off the field under his own power and head back to the locker room with the training staff.

It was a non-contact injury, so the results weren't expected to be good. Following an MRI, reports confirmed the worst. Higgins will now undergo surgery and begin the rehab process to hopefully return by the start of next training camp.

"It's tough, man," quarterback C.J. Stroud said. "He was doing great; it was the best I’ve seen him. He was making plays, doing things I hadn’t seen him do before, playing physical. My thoughts and prayers are always with him. I’ve been talking to him as much as I can. He’s definitely going to be missed.”

Higgins' departure is a massive blow to the Texans' passing game. After a promising rookie campaign, he seemed poised to have a breakout season opposite Pro Bowler Nico Collins for Stroud, especially on intermediate routes.

As the Texans' first selection in the 2025 NFL Draft, Higgins made strides. The Iowa State product had 525 receiving yards and six touchdowns while helping Houston secure 12 wins.

#Texans QB C.J. Stroud on WR Jayden Higgins (torn ACL) lost for the season, “Yeah, it’s tough man, he was doing great, it was the best I’ve seen him. He was making plays, doing things I hadn’t seen him do before, playing physical. My thoughts and prayers are always with him. I’ve… pic.twitter.com/iAhqeWDXbh

Houston now turns to the rest of the receiving department, including Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel. Hutchinson, a 2023 draft pick, is entering his fourth season with the team and is in a contract year, so he could be playing for a new deal with Houston or another franchise. 

Noel hasn't practiced much throughout training camp as he's been dealing with a broken finger and hamstring tightness. A third-round pick out of Iowa State, Noel has potential but was limited on offense last season, mostly finding success on special teams.

The big mystery is Tank Dell's status for the regular season. Dell, the Texans' third-round pick in 2023, also enters a contract season and is coming back from a serious knee injury in December 2024 that held him out all of 2025.

Right now, there's no timeline for when he could ramp up his rep count and actually begin practicing against contact. Even after that, Dell still would need time to ramp up before a live game.

The Texans have one more preseason game before Week 1 rolls around. By then, hopefully they'll have an answer on what to do with the second receiver position.

Of course, that's way easier said than done.

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans begin life without 'best player on the field' in Jayden Higgins following season-ending injury