Tank Dell’s practice absence is starting to look like a real problem for the Houston Texans.
According to KPRC 2 Texans Insider Aaron Wilson, Houston went through another practice today without Dell as an active participant. That puts the former UH Cougar on track to miss the team’s third and final preseason game, Friday night against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium.
The last time Dell worked in team drills was August 10, exactly two weeks ago. That day felt like a step forward.
He caught a pass from backup quarterback Davis Mills during team period, which marked an upgrade from working only individual drills on the side. For fans watching his comeback from the catastrophic knee injury he suffered in December of the 2024 season against the Kansas City Chiefs, it looked like progress was finally picking up.
Since then, though, Dell has barely been seen on the practice field. That has led to growing speculation that the Texans could open the regular season with him on the Injured Reserve list if this doesn’t change soon.
The possibility is getting harder to ignore because the absences are piling up. Houston is already dealing with injuries at other spots, including wide receiver Jayden Higgins’s torn ACL and running back British Brooks’ broken hand. In that kind of situation, availability matters just as much as talent, and right now Dell doesn’t look like a player the Texans can count on being ready.
That doesn’t make the situation any less unfortunate. Two weeks ago, it seemed like Dell was trending toward a faster return. But after such a devastating injury, it’s also fair to remember that he’s fighting just to get back on an NFL field at all.
If Houston does place him on IR to start the season, Dell would have to sit out the first four games before he could return. That would push his earliest possible activation to the Texans’ Week 5 matchup with the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium.
For Houston, that could end up making sense for everyone involved. It would give Dell more time to recover while also giving DeMeco Ryans and his staff a little more room to sort through the 53-man roster decisions ahead.
Even so, it’s a disappointing turn for a player whose return would have been one of the league’s best comeback stories.
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