The Houston Texans will open their 2025 campaign against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday without WR Christian Kirk, who has been ruled out of the contest with a hamstring injury.
Christian Kirk Injury Provides Early Opportunity for Texans’ Rookie WRs
Injuries have become a recurring issue for Kirk over the past couple of seasons. The 28-year-old managed just eight games in 2024 after suffering a broken collarbone and just 12 games in 2023 due to a core muscle injury (initially thought of as a groin injury).
Kirk has shown that he can shoulder a solid workload in the slot when healthy. In his last full season, which came for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, he snagged 84 catches for 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns.
Kirk’s hamstring injury doesn’t seem too serious, with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that it’s considered internally as a “two-week injury” but also that the team will be cautious about rushing his return, as any kind of hamstring tweak isn’t an injury to be taken lightly.
“Texans WR Christian Kirk has a strained hamstring that is expected to sideline him for at least Sunday’s opener vs. the Rams and possibly longer, per sources. One source estimated it to be a two-week injury for Kirk, but the Texans will be “cautious” with him,” he reported.
Texans WR Christian Kirk has a strained hamstring that is expected to sideline him for at least Sunday’s opener vs. the Rams and possibly longer, per sources. One source estimated it to be a two-week injury for Kirk, but the Texans will be “cautious” with him. pic.twitter.com/2nkyFGUhI8
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 4, 2025
In the meantime, Higgins and Noel will happily fill his shoes in the starting lineup.
With that being said, Kirk’s injury history might explain why, despite acquiring him to complement Nico Collins in their WR corps, the Texans also used a couple of their early draft picks to bring on a pair of promising receivers in former Iowa State duo Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel.
Options To Replace Kirk for the Houston Texans
Higgins was drafted in the early second round, while his college teammate Noel was taken in the middle of the third.
It’s actually Noel who projects to benefit more from Kirk’s absence, as he shares a similar profile to the veteran. Both Noel (5’11”, 201 lbs) and Kirk (5’11”, 200 lbs) are slightly undersized route runners who primarily line up in the slot.
Read More: Texans WR Depth Chart: Jayden Higgins, Jaylin Noel, and Christian Kirk Battling For Targets
Noel has legitimate upside, having logged 1,194 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in his senior season at Iowa State. He also flashed elite athleticism at the combine, recording a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, 41.5-inch vertical, and highly graded agility tests.
Jaylin Noel is a WR prospect in the 2025 draft class. He scored a 9.72 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 97 out of 3445 WR from 1987 to 2025.
Pro day pending for remaining tests.https://t.co/eX7li4XX8y pic.twitter.com/9kBmuWumY1
— RAS.football (@MathBomb) March 11, 2025
The 6’4″, 215 lbs Higgins, on the other hand, has already won a starting role on the outside opposite Collins. However, he could still stand to see an improved target share as a result of Kirk’s injury.
Despite sharing a workload with Noel in college, Higgins recorded almost identical stats in his final college campaign, hauling in 1,183 receiving yards and nine touchdowns for Iowa State in 2024.
