What happened to Stefon Diggs? Texans WR injury status vs. Chargers

When the Houston Texans kick off their wild-card game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, they'll do so without wide receiver Stefon Diggs.

Diggs, 31, has been out of action for Houston since tearing his ACL in a Week 8 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts.

The star wide receiver, who had come to the Texans from the Buffalo Bills via trade before the season, suffered the tear while running a route late in the third quarter. Diggs went down on the non-contact injury while making his break to the inside, and he remained down on the field after the play before eventually walking off under his own power.

Initially, the Texans did not announce Diggs' status until they had confirmation of the injury. Two days after the game, however, the team announced that the wideout had torn his ACL, ending his season early.

Diggs is one of two top receivers that Houston will be missing for its wild-card clash on Saturday afternoon. Second-year receiver Tank Dell will also be out after suffering a season-ending injury – a dislocated kneecap – in Week 16.

Wide receiver Nico Collins, who missed five games earlier this season while dealing with a hamstring injury, is good to go for Saturday's game. He'll likely be joined by John Metchie III and Robert Woods in the starting receiver spots.

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Stefon Diggs contract

As part of their trade for Diggs, the Texans voided the final three years of the four-year extension the wideout had signed with the Bills ahead of the 2022 season. Houston also moved his guaranteed money for 2025 into this season, allowing Diggs to get a slight pay raise and the chance to become a free agent after 2024.

Here's how Diggs' Texans contract looked going into the 2024 regular season, according to Spotrac.com:

• Term: 1 year

• Total value: $22.5 million

• Average annual value (AAV): $22.5 million

• Guaranteed money: $22.0 million

Diggs will hit free agency when the 2025 league year begins on March 12.

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Stefon Diggs stats

Diggs managed to play in seven full games (and three quarters of an eighth) for the Texans before his injury.

Here are his stats through those first eight games:

• Targets: 64

• Receptions: 47

• Receiving yards: 496

• Yards per reception: 10.6

• Touchdowns: 4 (3 receiving, 1 rushing)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is Stefon Diggs? Texans WR injury update for wild-card round