Texans WR Tank Dell taken to hospital after suffering gruesome injury

Dell’s injury comes as an unfortunate result of friendly fire. As Dell caught a 30-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone, practice squad call-up Jared Wayne collided with his knee as he dove for the ball, thinking the pass was intended for him. Dell was able to secure the ball with one hand, while his second hand shot immediately to his left knee.

The immediate aftermath was a somber scene as carts rushed out to the end zone and Dell’s teammates huddled around. Dell’s knee was stabilized, and he was carted off the field and, eventually, transported to the hospital. A vacuum splint was used to stabilize his entire left leg. That type of splint is usually used as when a training staff is worried about severe instability or fracture.

If the injury is as serious as it appeared to be, this continues what has been an extremely unfortunate start to Dell’s career. The 25-year-old got off to a hot start as a third-round rookie out of the nearby University of Houston. His impressive rookie campaign was unfortunately cut short when he suffered a fractured fibula that required season-ending ankle surgery. Still, in only 11 games, Dell produced a commendable 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns. Dell’s recovery took an unfortunate turn when, early in the offseason, he found himself as the victim in a public mass shooting outside a nightclub in Sanford, Florida.

The compounding injuries did not deter his recovery to the point that he missed any regular-season time this year. Dell opened the season with the rest of the Texans, only missing a Week 4 contest due to a chest injury. With Nico Collins handling WR1 duties and the arrival of another star in Diggs, Dell had been operating in a reduced role this year, until Diggs suffered a season-ending injury of his own.

Coming into Saturday, Dell had only one 100-yard receiving day and only two touchdowns. Still, he was second on the team in receiving yards and third on the team in both receptions and receiving touchdowns. When Dell exited, he was having perhaps the best game of his career. The play that resulted in his early exit left him with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown on the day. He was on track to record season highs in all three categories if he had been able to continue.

The Texans passing attack will face a tough task in replacing both Diggs and Dell in the playoffs this January. Collins will continue in his leading role, while John Metchie and Robert Woods will be asked to step up in major ways in the weeks to come.

They’ve got a couple of weeks to feel out how their offense will work without Dell. While they can improve their playoff seeding with some help, they’re guaranteed a home playoff game as (at worst) the fourth seed. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team playing it extremely safe for the remainder of the season, while Dell will likely need to begin his work getting back to the field in 2025.