Texans' Nico Collins takes important step towards Week 11 return

Nico Collins is finally back for the Texans

Houston Texans wideout Nico Collins has been out for over a month with a hamstring injury, but the star playmaker is finally poised to return. The Texans can hardly afford to lose the Michigan alum long-term, as he still leads the team with 567 receiving yards this year.

Collins was a full participant at Friday's practice, via NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The 25-year-old was the NFL's receiving leader when he went down, and is the straw that stirs the drink for Houston's air attack. Now that fellow star receiver Stefon Diggs is out for the season, that makes Collins' return all the more crucial.

Nico Collins feels back up to speed ahead of Texans return

Collins feels rejuvenated ahead of Houston's bout with the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, via The Associated Press's Kristie Rieken.

“I feel like myself,” Collins said Friday. “I feel like that was the main part.”

The Texans, who are on a two-game losing streak, are getting their star back at the right time. While Collins' absence hurt the offense, it was a worthy sacrifice for a team with championship aspirations.

“You don’t want to miss no games, but that’s part of it,” he continued. “But it’s a long season, it’s a marathon and you want to take care of your body. But missing time hurts. You want to be out there with your brothers, making plays.”

Houston quarterback CJ Stroud looks forward to having his most reliable target back.

“He has that personality where he wants the hard coverage guy, he wants the hard routes to run, he wants to make the hard plays,” Stroud said. “When he gets the ball, he is dangerous. He is able to turn good into great. He runs guys over. He does all these things. … He gets everybody juiced up to play hard and I definitely feel like we have been missing that.”