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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
HOUSTON — Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season, coach DeMeco Ryans announced Tuesday.
Ryans called the Diggs’ injury a “blow to us,” as the two-time All-Pro ranked seventh in the NFL in catches (47) this season and was second on the Texans in receiving yards (496).
“Hurts our team to hear that news. He’s been such an important part to our team and everything that he brought, not only on the field, but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day,” Ryans said. “Have to pick up the slack. A lot of guys have to step up and pick up the slack. Definitely praying for him.”
Diggs tore the ACL on a noncontact play in Houston’s 23-20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. With 2:01 remaining in the third quarter, quarterback C.J. Stroud completed a 4-yard pass to running back Joe Mixon. But during the play, Diggs cut inside on a route and grabbed his right knee, then sat on the turf. He walked off on his own power and didn’t return. He finished the game with a team-high five catches for 81 yards.
The Texans traded a 2025 second-round pick to the Buffalo Bills to acquire Diggs in the offseason, and Stroud immediately benefited from his presence. Stroud had a passer rating of 104 and completed 73% of his passes when targeting Diggs.
Houston loses Diggs at a time when the team is already without wide receiver Nico Collins, who was leading the NFL in receiving yards (567) through the first six weeks. Collins is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury in Week 5.
“Yeah man, [Diggs’ injury] sucks. It’s not easy,” Stroud said. “You try to think positively but it’s not a bunch of positive thoughts. And I just really feel bad for him.”
Now the Texans will travel to face the New York Jets on Thursday night without their top two receivers. The receivers expected to step up in place of Diggs will be Tank Dell, Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie III.
Dell is third on the Texans in routes run (214), receiving yards (229) and touchdowns (2). Both of his touchdowns came after Collins went on injured reserve. But he hasn’t produced as well as he did in his rookie year, when he was on pace for 1,205 yards before breaking a leg in December. Last season, he averaged 70 receiving yards per game up until Week 13, but this season, he’s averaging just 32 yards.
“Once you lose one of the star players, everybody has got to step up,” Dell said. “Even if you are one of the star players, you still have to step up and do more and produce more. I know all of us are more than capable of doing that. So, we are going to try to go out there and make plays.”
Regardless of who steps up in place of Diggs, the Texans will lean on their rushing attack. Mixon is averaging 100.6 rushing yards per game, which is third in the NFL. He can help keep the Texans out of unfavorable situations when they go through their occasional pass-game struggles due to pass protection — Stroud has been pressured the fifth-most (40.7%) this season.
The offense averages 26.8 points when Mixon plays, compared with only 18 when he missed three games with an ankle injury.
“It’s definitely a very unfortunate situation for him, we are all here for him,” Mixon told ESPN. “At the end of the day, most importantly, God got him under his wing, so he is in great hands. In terms of a leadership role, that’s what they bring me here for roles like this. I’m gonna continue to do what I do best. At the end of the day, it’s only one goal, I’m saying that’s the win ultimately.”
Diggs will be a free agent after the season after the Texans reworked his contract following the trade. Houston took the $3.5 million guaranteed to Diggs for the 2025 season and put it in his 2024 contract, giving him $22.52 million in guaranteed money this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.