The Houston Texans have elevated rookie wide receiver Lewis Bond from their practice squad for the Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The move comes with two-time Pro Bowl receiver Nico Collins unavailable for the matchup.
Bond was selected by Houston in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL draft with the 204th overall pick. He was later released during the roster reduction to 53 players and subsequently returned to the Texans’ practice squad.
The elevation is Houston’s second for the game. Veteran safety and All-Pro special-teams player George Odum also received a standard practice-squad elevation.
KPRC 2 reporter Aaron Wilson said a league source described Collins as dealing with a Grade 1 hamstring injury. The expectation reported by Wilson was that Collins could miss two games, including the contest against Cincinnati and the following road game against the Indianapolis Colts, though he described the situation as subject to change.
Bond has two additional elevations available before Houston would have to add him to its 53-player roster or choose another player. The source said Kayshon Boutte, Xavier Hutchinson, Jared Wayne and Jaylin Noel are ahead of Bond on the receiver depth chart, but indicated the rookie is expected to play in some capacity.
