{"id":452429,"date":"2026-09-30T20:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T20:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452429\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T20:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T20:22:11","slug":"cowboys-vs-texans-gets-massive-injury-update-and-it-raises-the-urgency-on-dallas-key-player-to-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/452429\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys vs. Texans gets massive injury update and it raises the urgency on Dallas’ key player to return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\/<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys aren\u2019t the only team with injury news to track ahead of Week 3. And Houston\u2019s latest development puts even more pressure on an already banged-up secondary.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Football
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFootball \u2013 NFL \u2013 Baltimore Ravens v Dallas Cowboys \u2013 Estadio Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil \u2013 September 27, 2026 Baltimore Ravens\u2019 Justice Hill in action with Dallas Cowboys\u2019 Shavon Revel Jr.
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREUTERS\/Brian Snyder<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys\u2019 Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans just got a major injury update. It doesn\u2019t involve anyone in a Cowboys uniform, but it should matter a lot to them.<\/p>\n

Texans WR Nico Collins returned to practice Wednesday after missing last week with a hamstring injury. That\u2019s massive news for the Houston offense, and it raises the stakes on whether Cowboys CB Shavon Revel Jr. can suit up.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s break it down.<\/p>\n

What Nico Collins means to the Texans<\/p>\n

Collins is Houston\u2019s best wide receiver, and the Texans have looked like a different unit with him on the field.<\/p>\n

He played in the season opener, a 36-31 shootout loss to the Buffalo Bills. Houston came up short, but the offense played its best game of the season. Collins drew 10 targets and caught seven passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, averaging 10.7 yards per reception. He added a 7-yard carry for good measure. Since then, the Texans scored six points on the Bengals and 17 on the Colts in two losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That production is nothing new. Collins has put together three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and has been a Pro Bowler in back-to-back years going back to 2024.<\/p>\n

He wakes up a part of the Houston offense that simply isn\u2019t there without him.<\/p>\n

Without Collins, the Texans turned to Keyshawn Woody, whom they traded for before the season, along with Xavier Hutchinson, Jared Wayne, and Jaylin Noel. Hutchinson is more of a role player. None of them come close to what Collins brings.<\/p>\n

The numbers back up the film<\/p>\n

Watch the Texans without Collins and the picture is clear. QB C.J. Stroud takes a lot of hits, the pass protection isn\u2019t great, and he\u2019s under pressure a whole lot. When he does get time, there isn\u2019t much separation coming from his receivers.<\/p>\n

The exception has been Hutchinson, who has had some good moments thanks to his speed. And yet, even he struggles to separate in a lot of instances.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where it gets telling. With Collins on the field, Houston completes 67% of its passes, according to Sports Info Solutions. With Collins off the field, that number drops to 58%.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s nearly a nine-percentage-point gap and it shows!<\/p>\n

To be fair, we\u2019re dealing with a small sample size early in the 2026 season. The difference in EPA per play hasn\u2019t been significant, either. However, the film tells the story. The Texans badly missed Collins.<\/p>\n

Why Shavon Revel Jr. has to play<\/p>\n

Now the attention shifts to the Cowboys\u2019 own practice later in the day, and Revel is the name to watch.<\/p>\n

Dallas is banged up in the secondary. The Cowboys know DaRon Bland is going to play. The big question is whether Revel joins him.<\/p>\n

The team is optimistic about his availability and hasn\u2019t ruled him out. Brian Schottenheimer said he expects Revel to be limited on Wednesday\u2019s practice. That\u2019s a relevant piece of information, because Revel lines up wide most of the time, and Collins is an outside receiver.<\/p>\n

If Revel can\u2019t go, the Cowboys would be without both Cobie Durant and Revel. So who does that leave?<\/p>\n

Dallas could turn to Ameer Speed or Caelen Carson, but both made the 53-man roster mostly because of their special teams value. The Cowboys also signed multiple backs<\/a> to the practice squad but no one you\u2019d expect to start at outside corner. None of those options make for an ideal situation at cornerback against a receiver of Collins\u2019 caliber.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys need Revel to play. We\u2019ll see how his injury progresses this week but Collins\u2019 return to practice makes his availability that much more urgent. We\u2019ll see what the Cowboys\u2019 injury report looks like after their session. For now, this is a big update for Houston, and a concerning one for Dallas.<\/p>\n

\"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Sep\t\t<\/p>\n

Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople are making too much of Brian Schottenheimer\u2019s controversial words on Dak Prescott, but the Cowboys HC can learn from it\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys head coach took the blame for the loss in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. And one answer about trust has fans and content creators riled up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys aren\u2019t the only team with injury news to track…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[153,102,113,104,103,9957,12928],"class_list":["post-452429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-american-football","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-nico-collins","tag-shavon-revel-jr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}