Tank Dell’s road back to the Texans is still a work in progress, even after he made it all the way back onto the practice field.
Houston placed the 26-year-old receiver on injured reserve while trimming its roster to 53 players, a move that guarantees Dell will miss at least the first four games of the 2026 season. He had been pushing through recovery from the serious knee injury he suffered late in the 2024 season, and the latest decision shows the Texans are not rushing the final stretch.
Dell sat out the entire 2025 campaign, but he did begin practicing with the team again in August. He was running routes and taking part in padded, live-practice work, signs that he had moved well beyond the earliest stages of rehab. Still, Texans general manager Nick Caserio said Tuesday that Dell isn’t quite ready for game action yet.
“I'd say he's close,” Caserio said at a press conference Tuesday. “He is not quite there, which is why he's in the category that he's in.
I think we'll have a better idea with a lot of these guys after four weeks or four games, whatever it is. I'd say he's definitely closer now than he was - let's say in training camp.
There's a little bit more work that remains. Overall, he's in pretty good spirits.
There are certain things we just have to see. Some of this too, is honestly for him mentally to make sure he has enough confidence so that he can go out there and perform the way he's capable of, the way he knows how to.”
Before the injury, Dell had already established himself as a real threat in Houston’s offense. Over his first two NFL seasons, he piled up nearly 100 catches, 10 touchdowns and 1,376 receiving yards.
The Texans’ receiver room has also shifted while Dell has been out. The team brought in Kayshon Boutte after Jayden Higgins tore his ACL this summer.
Dell was also listed among the NFL’s potential 2026 Comeback Player of the Year candidates, alongside names like Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons.
For now, Houston is clearly choosing patience. Dell has come a long way, but the Texans want to be sure he’s ready both physically and mentally before they put him back on the field.
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