The Houston Texans are still feeling the ramifications of a disastrous late-season injury. The Houston Chronicle's Jonathan M. Alexander believes Texans wide receiver Tank Dell will "more than likely" miss the entire 2025 regular season due to the knee injury he suffered in December.
NEW: The Houston Texans drafted two receivers.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) May 4, 2025
What it means for Tank Dell and other WRs on roster https://t.co/mxqWe1zkLp via @houstonchron
Dell tore his ACL, MCL, and LCL in a Week 16 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. Dell was unable to undergo his ACL reconstruction until early March, which could delay his availability until spring of next year. In any case, Alexander expects Dell to open the regular season on the physically unable to perform list.
Impact
The writing was on the wall as soon as Dell went down with his injury. It was clearly devastating and potentially career-threatening at the time. It's a heartbreaking development for the promising young pass catcher; Dell has averaged an excellent 55.0 receiving yards per game and 8.8 yards per target since entering the league as a third-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Texans have clearly proceeded this offseason as if they didn't expect Dell to be available anytime soon. They added two wide receivers in the first three rounds of this year's draft and traded for Jacksonville Jaguars pass catcher Christian Kirk.
That's doubly unfortunate for Dell. Even if his recovery goes smoothly, there's a very real possibility he might return in 2026 as the Texans' WR4 or WR5. That would mean diminished snaps and limited opportunities in the final year of his rookie deal, which would massively impact his chances of earning a big contract in free agency.
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