The Houston Texans have a huge game this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, and the outcome of this game could greatly impact the team's playoff chances.

But as of Thursday, CJ Stroud is still in the concussion protocol, Nico Collins hasn't practiced (calf), and Will Anderson Jr. is reportedly dealing with a high ankle sprain that has kept him sidelined.

And as much as we would love to see the Texans get into the playoffs, have we reached a point where looking ahead to next season should be the priority?

The Chargers placed QB Justin Herbert on IR this week, and shut down Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen. Why risk further injury to their top players when they no longer have a chance at making the playoffs?

For the Texans, though, they're still in this thing. And let's face it, CJ Stroud is going to want to play. He has a legit chance to lead the league in passing yards.

DeMeco Ryans is going to have some tough decisions to make over the next week or two.

Looking ahead

A lot can happen in just a few weeks. Tank Dell suffered a season-ending injury against the Broncos, and now Nico Collins is out with a calf injury, which caused CJ Stroud to have his worse performance of the year against the Jets.

The offensive line is banged up, and it's led to Stroud taking more hits. We're also realizing that receivers Noah Brown, Robert Woods, and John Metchie have become completely ineffective without Dell and Collins on the field.

It also looks like the Texans haven't learned their lesson from using Tank Dell in goal line situations to block between the tackles. Plus, Nico Collins has yet to play a full season. As good as they are, they appear to be injury prone.

So as we look to next season, there's no reason to bring back Brown and Woods. Brown has ZERO catches in the last two games and Woods has only reached 50 yards receiving twice this year and has -2 yards receiving in his last two games. Yes, you read that correctly.

The salary cap is going up, so why not look to sign Tee Higgins, Michael Pittman, or Mike Evans?

And don't stop there, add another receiver at the top of the draft and give Stroud as many weapons as possible.

There's so much more to talk about. Be sure to watch the video above as we discuss how the Texans should navigate the remainder of the season and beyond.

Subscribe to SportsMapTexans on YouTube for our latest content.