Battle Red Blog
Get well soon, Stefon.
We were all prepared for the worst when we saw Stefon Diggs come up hobbling after a non-contact injury on the infamously unfriendly field of NRG Stadium. And now the hammer has been dropped.
Per DeMeco Ryans at his Tuesday press conference, and confirmed by several other members of the Houston sports media, Stefon Diggs has torn his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season.
Remember just a scant two months ago how we were laughing at the embarrassment of riches the Houston Texans had at wide receiver? “We just have too many good receivers. What are we going to do with them all?” Going into November, that tune has changed significantly. With Nico Collins still not scheduled to return to action until week 10 and now with Diggs being done for the season, the receiving game falls squarely on the shoulders of one Nathaniel “Tank” Dell to shake his early season struggles and get back to his rookie form.
That said, the Texans do still have options at WR. John Metchie III and Xavier Hutchinson are now sure to get more attention than they have previously (which was not a whole lot to begin with), which means now we’ll really see what we have with our vaunted wide receiver depth.
On the season, Diggs has caught 47 balls for 496 yards and three touchdowns in his eight appearances for the Texans; not a bad half of football. It’s a shame he won’t be able to see the end of it. The real question now becomes, with Diggs injured, does he come back to the Texans after year’s end? Diggs was traded to Houston and the Texans wiped the remaining three years off of his Bills contract so he can test free agency in 2025. With the ACL tear, would he want to come back on a one-year “prove it” deal? We know how much Texans GM Nick Caserio loves to give out those kinds of contracts.
Would the Texans want him back? In 2025, Diggs will be on the wrong side of 30 and coming off of an ACL tear. The forecast in the old magic cue ball (I can’t afford a magic 8-ball, they don’t pay writers enough here) is murky at best.
So, with that all said, let’s hope Tank Dell can remember shake off the early season rust and that Nico Collins comes back soon. Real soon.
