Nico Collins' Hamstring is Officially a Problem for the Texans

Adam Schefter just delivered the exact sentence that makes fantasy managers stare blankly at their phones. For the second straight day, Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins did not practice due to a hamstring injury.

When a star player misses Wednesday, you can usually talk yourself into it being routine veteran rest. When he misses Thursday with a soft-tissue issue, it is time to start making backup plans for Sunday.

"Adam Schefter reported: 'For the second straight day, the Texans said WR Nico Collins did not practice due to his hamstring injury.'"

The Texans are gearing up for a critical Week 3 divisional clash against the Indianapolis Colts, and doing it without their top target completely changes the math. Medical reports suggest Collins is dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring strain, an injury that typically requires one to three weeks of recovery time.

Hamstrings are the check-engine lights of the NFL. You can try to ignore them and keep driving, but you usually end up stranded on the side of the highway in the third quarter.

Houston did get a minor victory on the injury report, with right tackle Trent Brown returning to practice after dealing with wrist and knee issues. Having your right tackle back is great for keeping the quarterback upright, but it does not magically create separation down the sideline.

This absence completely scrambles the board for Sunday. Without Collins stretching the field, the Colts get to play a much more comfortable brand of defense, and anyone looking at Houston's team total has to factor in a severely downgraded passing attack.

Collins is officially trending toward watching this divisional game in sweatpants. The Texans will have to dig deep into their depth chart to keep pace in the AFC South, while the rest of us wait to see if this hamstring issue lingers into October.