Mack Hollins has been a major contributor to the New England Patriots’ offense in his first year with the franchise during the 2025 NFL season. He will, unfortunately, be unavailable for their Divisional Round game against the Houston Texans. Here’s why the veteran wide receiver has yet to make a playoff appearance this season.
What Happened to Mack Hollins and When Will He Return for the Patriots?
Hollins was unavailable for the Patriots’ Wild Card round game against the Los Angeles Chargers last week. They advanced to the Divisional Round without him, but he will again be unavailable when they take on the Texans.
The Patriots placed Hollins on the injured reserve list back in December after he suffered a reported abdominal injury. This comes with a required four-game minimum absence, and he has now missed three games since the final two weeks of the regular season.
This upcoming game against the Texans would be his fourth, so if New England advances to the AFC Championship game, he would be eligible to make his return.
It’s unclear at this point whether he will be healthy enough to do so, and whether they will be able to get Houston anyway, considering they have been one of the hottest teams in the NFL since the midway point of the season. If they can, his return to the field should boost their offense and improve their chances of reaching the Super Bowl.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss recently spoke with the team’s wide receivers coach, Todd Downing, who stated that Hollins has still been making an impact in his absence, appearing in games. He impressively ranked 31st in the PFSN NFL WR Impact Rankings for this season on the field, but he’s apparently contributing off of it as well.
“He’s around in all the meetings and we talk a lot about the things he might see with the upcoming opponent, and he’s been helping Efton Chism III with some stuff,” explained Downing.
Their offense is likely going to need all of the help that it can get against the Texans’ elite defense, which has shut down just about every other team recently. This includes the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card round last week, when they held them to just six points in a blowout.
While not having Hollins on the field could hurt them, at least he’s contributing in other ways, such as helping to prepare Efton Chism III for this crucial situation.
