Tank Dell injury update: NFL insider reveals new details about diagnosis for Texans WR

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a harrowing knee injury during this past Saturday’s contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, which resulted in him having to be carted off the field.

Following the weekend that was around the league, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport provided a myriad of injury updates stemming from Week 16’s games. One of them featured Dell, who Rapoport confirmed is more than likely done for the remainder of 2024, at the least.

“There was a significant injury for one of the bright, young stars of the Houston Texans, Tank Dell. Their speedy deep threat,” Rapoport stated. “On an acrobatic touchdown catch earlier this week, had some friendly-fire from a teammate. Ended up dislocating his knee. You could see, right on the field, teammates said, ‘Don’t move, don’t move,’ because you could do much worse damage if you actually move the knee.

“He stayed the night in Kansas City. Was transported back to Houston. Now will go over his surgical options. It’s safe to say his season is over.”

Former NFL team doctor David J. Chao also provided some information on what Dell’s prognosis means: “Knee dislocation confirmation (much worse prognosis than kneecap/patella dislocation) means multiple ligaments torn and long road to recovery,” he posted on X.

It’s extremely unfortunate news for Dell and the Texans, as the wide receiver has dealt with a slew of injuries since his arrival in the NFL. Coming into the game, Dell had 45 catches for 569 yards, two touchdowns and 12.6 yards per catch — solid numbers for a sophomore wide receiver.

Last season, Dell finished his rookie campaign with 47 catches for 709 yards, seven touchdowns and 15.9 yards per catch in 2023, before an injury ended it prematurely, as well.

Moreover, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was caught on the NBC cameras being visibly upset following the injury, in what was described as a “serious knee injury” by play-by-play man Noah Eagle. Dell was shortly thereafter ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Coming into Saturday, Tank Dell was a focal point of the offense for Houston (9-5), who looked for an upset of the Chiefs (13-1). Now, the Texans will be hoping to make a run with him rooting them on from afar.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this article.