Spend a week in Houston, Texas and it won't take you long to figure out that you can find some delcious cuisine around the city. Whether you're into Tex-Mex, cajun or traditional Texas barbeque, you're gonna end up eating well during your stay in H-Town thanks to the numerous chefs and restaurants around the city that clearly know what they're doing.
What came as a surprise, at least to me, is that in addition to putting in lord knows how much work to return to the gridiron after a gruesome season-ending knee injury toward the end of the 2024 season, Texans wide receiver Tank Dell has evidently spent some time in the kitchen, because when Dell was speaking recently about his return to the field in 2026, he mentioned that he was ready to 'cook,' which now that I think about it, may just be Gen Z slang for performing at a high level.
“What I’ve been through is something that taught me to be humble and just keep working, I’m back, I’m feeling good right now,” Dell said this week while hosting a shopping spree at Academy Sports and Outdoors for athletes from Boys & Girls Club of Greater Houston. “Once the season comes, I’m gonna cook up.”
Dell did plenty of cooking throughout his first two NFL seasons before each campaign was cut short by a season-ending injury. In 25 career games, Dell has hauled in 98 receptions for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns. With four 100 yard games to his name already, Dell has topped the century mark as many times during his first 25 career games as DeAndre Hopkins once did for the Houston Texans, which is the second-most of any Texans pass-catcher in their first 25 career games behind only Andre Johnson.
But given the severity of his injury, there is appropriate reason to doubt whether Tank Dell could ever get to 2023 or 2024 form again. Within the Texans organization, there is an understanding that despite all of the tireless work that Tank Dell has put in, he may never be that player again.
"Knowing Tank, he’s probably cautiously optimistic that he’s going to be able to go out there and be Tank Dell," Texans general manager Nick Caserio said of Dell last week. “I think everybody is hoping that’s the case, but you never know. None of us control injuries and what happens. but I think everybody is rooting for Tank. He’s worked very hard and had a great attitude. I’m excited to see him out there moving around. Nobody is more excited than he is, so it will be good once we start getting on the field and getting on the grass to see what that looks like.”
The only person who is possibly more excited for Tank Dell's return may be Texans quarterback CJ Stroud, who has been decidedly better throughout his career with Dell on the field than he has been without him. But even beyond the on-field partnership, Stroud and Dell made an immediate connection off the field which was so strong that when Dell suffered his season-ending injury in Kansas City in December 2024, Stroud was inconsolable.
But having Dell back in the building and apparently ready to get to work when the Texans resume on-field activities this spring is enough to have returned a smile to CJ Stroud's face.
"Being here every day putting in the work and putting his best foot forward in some situations that were out of his control, I think is amazing to see him do that," Stroud said of Dell. "I can’t wait to get my brother back on the field. I think our connection, hopefully our chemistry picks right back up where we left off.”