Patriots CB Christian Gonzalez cleared to play on Sunday, Texans star Nico Collins ruled out

New England Patriots

The Patriots have a relatively clean injury report ahead of Sunday’s divisional round game against the Texans.

By Conor Roche

January 16, 2026 | 4:41 PM

2 minutes to read

The Patriots got some good news in their final injury report ahead of Sunday’s divisional round game against the Texans.

Star cornerback Christian Gonzalez has cleared concussion protocol and will play in Sunday’s game. Gonzalez was a full participant for the second straight practice on Friday, with Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel saying earlier in the day that he would be questionable to play on Sunday.

Edge rusher Harold Landry (knee) and Terrell Jennings (concussion protocol) are the only two Patriots players listed as questionable for Sunday’s game, and no one has been ruled out.

Arguably the biggest piece of injury news for Sunday’s game, though, is that Texans star wide receiver Nico Collins has been ruled out as he remains in concussion protocol. Collins departed the Texans’ wild-card win against the Steelers in the second half due to the injury.

Collins likely would’ve been Gonzalez’s primary assignment if he were healthy. Collins has emerged as one of the NFL’s best perimeter wide receivers over the last few years, logging 71 receptions for 1,117 yards and six touchdowns in 15 regular-season games.

Collins missed the 2024 matchup against the Patriots due to injury. However, he’s also put up strong numbers in the playoffs. He had 23 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns in four playoff games prior to Monday’s win over the Steelers.

With Collins out, the Texans don’t have a clear No. 1 wide receiver. Rookie Jayden Higgins was Houston’s only other wide receiver to have more than 40 receptions this season, but he logged 41 receptions.

Xavier Hutchinson, Christian Kirk, and Jaylin Noel have each contributed to the passing, though, in recent weeks. Hutchinson had 84 receiving yards in the Texans’ regular-season finale win over the Colts, while Kirk had 144 yards and a touchdown in last week’s win over the Steelers. Noel, a third-round rookie, had 54 receiving yards and a touchdown in the Texans’ Week 17 win over the Chargers.

Depth wide receiver Justin Watson is the only other Texans player who’s been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Former Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown, meanwhile, is the Texans’ only player ruled as questionable to play in the divisional round matchup.

Brown has been Houston’s primary right tackle since Week 10. However, he missed the Texans’ final two regular-season games due to ankle and knee injuries before returning for Monday’s playoff win over the Steelers.

As for the Patriots, Landry returned to action last week after missing the team’s final two regular-season games. Landry didn’t practice on Friday after being limited in the first two practices this week. He logged a team-high 8.5 sacks in the regular season.

Defensive lineman Khyiris Tonga will return for Sunday’s game after missing the Patriots’ last three games due to a foot injury. The fifth-year veteran has been a bit of a surprise contributor for the Patriots this year, logging 24 total tackles and playing 14 snaps as a fullback on offense.

“He’s great to have in practice, but what matters is what it’s going to be on Sunday at 3:00 p.m.,” Vrabel said of Tonga’s return on Friday. “I would say that hopefully he could pick up where he left off in his production, what he was able to do and how he helped us inside there as an interior, rotational player with Milt [Milton Williams] and Christian [Barmore], playing all those guys.”