“A Significant Blow” - Rich on Texans WR Jayden Higgins’ Season-Ending ACL Tear

Jayden Higgins limped off the field at the Texans and Raiders joint practice, went to see the trainers, and got the news the next day. His second season is over before it started.

The second-year receiver was coming off a terrific rookie year and was in line to be Houston's clear number two. Instead the Texans are reportedly resting all of their starters for Thursday's game against the Raiders, with DeMeco Ryans changing his mind after the diagnosis. That is one way to respond to a blown-out knee in a practice against a team you are about to play anyway.

Behind Higgins, the depth chart is where it gets uncomfortable. Nico Collins is Nico Collins. After that, Houston is waiting on Tank Dell to get all the way back, and Dell is currently listed as questionable. Jalen Nowell is still hurt. Xavier Hutchinson and Justin Watson are on the roster. The cupboard is not bare, exactly, but it is thinner than a team with Super Bowl ambition wants in the third week of August.

Which is why the conversation turned immediately to the phone. Two former Texans are sitting out there unemployed, starting with Brandin Cooks, a receiver who has churned through teams and can still make plays. Stefon Diggs was available two weeks ago. Keenan Allen was available two days ago, and may have signed too early for Houston's purposes.

Rich floated a reunion with DeAndre Hopkins at 34, though word around the room is that Hopkins is coaching right now. Sterling Shepard is out there. Tyler Lockett is out there. Somebody suggested checking in on Tyreek Hill's orthopedist, which is its own kind of long shot.

Then came the name that would actually move the needle. Brandon Aiyuk. The catch, and Rich flagged it immediately, is that Aiyuk first has to report to the San Francisco 49ers, because he is on a list that requires him to show up before anything else can happen. Assuming that box gets checked, a Texans trade would not be a bad choice at all. This is a team that mostly needs to score three touchdowns to win football games, and roughly 20 points a game probably gets it to 12 wins.

Nick Caserio, a guest on the show a couple of weeks ago, has a decision in front of him.

It was a rough day across the league. The Chargers lost their center, perhaps for the season. Houston lost its number two receiver, with all due respect to everyone else in that room. Alvin Kamara is out a month. And somewhere out there, a best ball roster with Higgins on it just went down a man with no way to replace him.