The 2026 NFL offseason has already seen boatloads of action, and we still have more than two months before the new season even kicks off. Through blockbuster trades and preseason rumors, teams and players are ramping up preparations for the new campaign, and the Houston Texans have flown under the radar so far.
Texans WR Tank Dell Entering Critical 2026 NFL Season
The Texans saw an extremely impressive recovery in the second half of the 2025 season. After starting the campaign 3-5, DeMeco Ryans and his team pulled themselves up by the bootstraps and subsequently put together a franchise-record-tying nine-game winning streak.
Interestingly, they made their remarkable playoff charge without Tank Dell, who missed the entire season after a devastating knee injury in 2024. Dell proved that year that he could be part of Houston’s long-term plans, recording 51 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games, with a 73.9 PFSN WR Impact score.
After the Texans’ receiving corps hinged on Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz in 2025, there’s an obvious need for a playmaker like Dell. PFSN’s Jacob Infante, however, believes the fourth-year wideout faces unique pressure this upcoming season.
“Late in the 2024 season, Tank Dell suffered a serious knee injury that forced him to miss the final few games, along with the entire 2025 season,” he wrote. “He looked like a potential star for the Houston Texans before getting hurt, but with such a long absence in between his last action, he has a lot to prove heading into a contract year.”
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Dell is still playing on his four-year, $5,689,104 rookie contract from 2023, with this upcoming campaign being his last before he becomes a free agent. Coming up big in a contract year is already a tall task, let alone doing it after a year-long injury absence.
Dell, who has 10 total touchdowns to his name in the NFL, had a mountain to climb after his catastrophic injury in 2024, which involved a dislocated knee and ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus tears.
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The NFL world held its breath in Week 16 of the 2024 season, when Dell caught a 30-yard touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, as he went down, he collided with fellow wide receiver Jared Wayne, with Dell’s left leg ending up at the bottom of the pile.
The young wideout never got up, and reports soon emerged that surgery would be required. Luckily, despite the injury being one of the worst ones one could sustain without losing a leg, Dell made his way back onto the comeback trail and is set to play again this season.
