Houston has a major problem.
Houston Texans receiver Stefon Diggs will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
Coach DeMeco Ryans made the announcement Tuesday, calling Diggs being out a huge loss and setback.
“It hurts our team to hear that news,” Ryans said. “He’s been such an important part to our team and just everything that he brought, not only on the field, but off the field. The energy, the leader, the way he worked every single day. He brought a lot to our team and we have to pick up the slack — a lot of guys have to pick up the slack.”
Diggs suffered the non-contact injury in the third quarter of Houston’s 3-point win, 23-20 over the Colts on Sunday. He was running a simple route and pulled up and clutched his right knee in pain before falling to the ground.
The 30-year-old Diggs was very productive on the field, having 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in his first season in Houston after a blockbuster trade from the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s not easy,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “It’s not something that I have a whole bunch of words for. I’m just … trying to just wrap my mind around what happened but it’s tough. You try to think positively about it but there’s not a bunch of positive thoughts and I just really feel bad for him.”
Diggs is a four-time Pro Bowler who has had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the past six seasons, highlighted by his 2020 season where he paced the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards.
The injury is another heartbreaking blow to a team that is already without leading receiver Nico Collins, who is out at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
Embed from Getty ImagesWith Diggs out, the Texans will have to depend on Tank Dell to take on a bigger role in the offense Thursday night when they visit Aaron Rodgers and the 2-6 New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Dell’s production has dropped off this season after a standout rookie year where he had 709 yards receiving with seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg.
He has 229 yards receiving this season and scored his second touchdown in Sunday’s win which improved the AFC South-leading Texans to 6-2.
“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.”
The Texans also have receivers Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson and John Metchie, but none of those players has shown up and contributed at all this season. The three players have combined for just 146 yards receiving.
“Other leaders have got to step up,” Stroud said. “We need a leader in that room to step up now since (Diggs) and Nico are both out.”
Stroud added that he has full confidence in his remaining receivers and knows they will take advantage of their opportunities.
“That means a lot,” Metchie said. “It shows that my teammates have a lot of faith and belief in me based off the work that they’ve seen me do. And for me, it just means that when I get out there, I’m just going to ride as hard for them as they do for me.”
