The Houston Texans’ receiving corps has resembled a MASH unit this season. A Week 5 hamstring injury sent Nico Collins to the injured reserve list, and he has just returned from the injury. In Week 8, Stefon Diggs’ season ended when he suffered a torn ACL against the Indianapolis Colts.
And the injury curse has struck again. In the game against the Kansas City Chiefs this afternoon, Tank Dell went down hard after catching a third-quarter touchdown pass. On the play, he got tangled up with teammate Jared Wayne and two Chiefs defensive backs in the back of the end zone. He ended up behind the end line, grabbing his knee and writhing in pain.
Dell and Texans Knew Immediately it was Serious
He was carted off the field in great pain, and an ambulance drove him 12 miles to the University of Kansas Medical Center, which is the closest level-one trauma center in the area. The medical staff that attended to him on the field wrapped his left leg in a vacuum splint to stabilize the area.
A hush fell over the stadium as concern grew about the extent of his injury. His Texans teammates openly cried and prayed for him as he was carted off the field. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans had this to say postgame regarding Dell’s injury. “Tank Dell has suffered a significant knee injury. Just all our thoughts and prayers are with Tank right now … it hurts to see him go down like that. He was having a fantastic game … and we just want to keep him in our thoughts and prayers right now.
Promising Season Curtailed
For the season, Dell had 45 receptions for 569 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He was on his way to his best game of the season, hauling in 6 receptions for 98 yards and the touchdown before his injury. This marks the second year in a row that his season has ended prematurely. In a 2023 Week 13 match-up against the Denver Broncos, he suffered a fractured fibula after being caught in a pile around the goal line.
The Texans have only four healthy receivers on their roster. Besides Collins, only Robert Woods, Xavier Hutchinson, and Wayne remain as receiving options on the active roster now that Dell, Diggs, and John Metchie III have been sidelined.
Game Outcome and Stroud Reacts
The Chiefs went on to win the game 27-19. After the game, an emotional CJ Stroud said, “It’s not easy seeing your brother go down like that. All you can do is really pray. That’s my best friend. It’s not easy to move on and keep playing but I tried to do the best I could. My teammates held me up … I appreciate those guys talking to me because I was going through it.”
The next game for the Houston Texans is at home on Christmas Day against the Baltimore Ravens.
