Nico Collins injury news means Mitchell Tinsley could play vs. Bengals
· Yahoo Sports
As the Cincinnati Bengals get set to face the Texans, they may go up against a familiar face Sunday in Houston.
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On Wednesday, Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in practice. That led to him missing Thursday’s practice, and it looks like there’s a good chance he misses Sunday’s game.
Making matters worse for the Texans is that they’re already without wide receivers Tank Dell and Jayden Higgins. Now that Collins is potentially out, there’s a very real chance the Bengals will see former wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley on the field Sunday.
Tinsley, who made the Bengals’ 53-man roster last year, was arguably the toughest cut the team had to make this year when it came time to make final cuts. Once Tinsley cleared waivers, he opted not to join the Bengals practice squad.
Instead, Tinsley signed with Houston’s practice squad, and that decision could pay off this week with Houston hurting at wide receiver. If Collins is inactive, the Texans have only four other receivers on the 53-man roster, so at least one receiver would be assured of getting a gameday call-up from the practice squad, and possibly two.
Will that be Tinsley? There are actually three other receivers on the practice squad — Josh Kelly, Daniel Sobkowicz, and Lewis Bond — so it’s not a done deal that Tinsley would be called up. Kelly, Sobkowicz, and Bond were all with the Texans this offseason and through training camp, so they could be ahead of Tinsley in the pecking order for a gameday call-up.
Still, Tinsley not only made the 53-man roster last year, but also made several big plays in the regular season. He’s certainly someone to keep an eye on heading into the weekend.
I expect Nico Collins to miss Week 2 with an acute grade 1 hamstring strain.
— Jesse Morse, M.D. (@DrJesseMorse) September 17, 2026
He will be 50/50 in Week 3 and likely miss as well.
It’s not worth the risk of progressing his mild grade 1 to a moderate grade 2.
He had a grade 2 in 2024 and missed 5 weeks.
Can’t risk that… https://t.co/LtRxugr6by
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