Houston Texans receiver Jayden Higgins tore his ACL during a joint practice with the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, ending his 2026 season before it even started, according to ESPN.

Higgins fell awkwardly running a route in the end zone during red-zone 11-on-11 drills and walked off under his own power. Head coach DeMeco Ryans initially said the team was "still evaluating the severity" of the injury before the torn ACL was confirmed, per ABC13 Houston.

The 23-year-old was Houston's second-round pick, No. 34 overall, in the 2025 draft out of Iowa State, and had shown flashes of becoming a key piece of quarterback C.J. Stroud's offense. As a rookie, Higgins caught 41 passes for 525 yards and six touchdowns across 10 starts, adding nine catches for 98 yards in two playoff games.

"HE'S A DOG. HE'S GOING TO BE THE FACE OF THIS FRANCHISE AT SOME POINT."

Teammate Nico Collins offered that praise of Higgins to CBS Sports before the injury, citing his "playmaking ability" and size as reasons he expected the young receiver to become a franchise cornerstone.

The timing stings for a Texans receiving room that's already dealt with more than its share of bad injury luck. Collins missed two games in 2025, Christian Kirk missed three, and Tank Dell sat out the entire season recovering from a dislocated knee and torn ACL, MCL and LCL. With Higgins now out too, Houston will likely lean on Xavier Hutchinson — who caught 35 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns last season — along with Dell, who is working his way back, and rookie third-round pick Jaylin Noel, who is himself managing a broken finger and hamstring tightness in camp.

The Texans open their regular season in a matter of weeks, and coaches will now have to reshuffle a passing-game rotation that had been built, in part, around Higgins' expected second-year leap. Houston has not announced a corresponding roster move, but an injured-reserve designation is expected in the coming days.