WHAT'S NEXT?
How Stefon Diggs' season-ending injury impacts Houston Texans moving forward
Oct 29, 2024, 3:25 pm
Stefon Diggs is out for the season. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.
Houston Texans receiver Stefon Diggs will miss the rest of the season after tearing the ACL in his right knee Sunday.
Coach DeMeco Ryans made the announcement Tuesday, calling Diggs being out a huge loss.
“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 win over the Colts on Sunday. He was running a route and pulled up and grabbed at his right knee before falling to the ground.
The 30-year-old Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in his first season in Houston after a blockbuster trade from the 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 led the NFL with a career-high 1,535 yards.
The injury is another 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.
With Diggs out, the Texans will need Tank Dell to take on a bigger role in the offense Thursday night when they visit the New York Jets. 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 contributed much 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'll 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.”
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Fans of Houston sports and Houston food can now score tickets to The Tailgate, CultureMap's all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit. The event, presented by Verizon, goes down from 6-9 pm November 11 at 8th Wonder. Find out more about it here.
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Houston Astros reveal shocking update on crucial starting pitcher
Apr 7, 2025, 11:37 pm
Florida and Walter Clayton Jr. somehow overcame Houston’s spirit-crushing defense Monday night to will out a 65-63 victory in an NCAA title-game thriller not decided until Clayton’s own D stopped the Cougars from taking a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
Clayton finished with 11 points, all in the second half, but what he’ll be remembered for most was getting Houston’s Emanuel Sharp to stop in the middle of his motion as he tried to go up for the game-winning 3 in the final seconds.
Clayton ran at him, Sharp dropped the ball and, unable to pick it up lest he get called for traveling, watched it bounce there while the clock ticked to zero.
Will Richard had 18 points to keep the Gators (36-4) in it, and they won their third overall title and first since 2007. The Cougars (35-5) and coach Kelvin Sampson were denied their first championship.
This was a defensive brawl, and for most of the night, Clayton got the worst of it.
He was 0 for 4 from the field without a point through the first half. He didn’t score until 14:57 remained in the game. He finished with one 3-pointer and, before that, a pair of three-point plays that kept the Gators in striking range.
It was Florida’s defense, not Houston’s, that controlled the final minute.
After Alijah Martin made two free throws to put Florida ahead 64-63 -- its first lead since 8-6 -- the Gators lured Sharp into a triple-team in the corner, where Richard got him to dribble the ball off his leg and out of bounds.
Florida made one free throw on the next possession and that set up the finale. The ball went to Sharp, who was moving to spot up for a 3 when Clayton ran at him. That left him with no choice but to let the ball go.
Sampson, who designed a defense that held Florida under 70 points for only the second time this season, looked on in shock.
Instead of Sampson becoming the oldest coach to win the title at age 69, 39-year-old Todd Golden becomes the youngest since N.C. State's Jim Valvano in 1983 to win it all.