Injuries suck. Houston Texans fans know this story all too well and now one of their biggest playmakers will miss the rest of the season, as it's official: Tank Dell tore his ACL and dislocated his knee in the Texans' Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
While Dell has already sent a message to the fan base following his brutal injury, this is still an unfortunate blow to the Texans as the team preps for its second straight playoff appearance. Dell is a huge piece of the offense and not having him is going to impact C.J. Stroud, and likely not for the better.
Texans lose Tank Dell for the season right before the playoffs
A third-round pick by the Texans in 2023 out of local University of Houston, Dell immediately made an impact for the team that drafted him, tallying 709 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie. Sadly, he also ended his rookie season on IR and missed the team's playoff run after fracturing his fibula.
This year, Dell also put together a nice year, racking up 667 yards and three scores in 14 games. As we know now though, he'll finish the season on IR and Stroud will no longer have one of his favorite weapons for the playoffs, which begin in three weeks.
The Texans started the year with Dell, Stefon Diggs, and Nico Collins as their three main receivers and now they're down to Collins, Robert Woods, and Jared Wayne as their starting trio. That's not anywhere close to being the daunting trio that the Texans had when the season began.
It's definitely been noticeable when Stroud hasn't had all three of his receivers but let's hope everyone else can step up and help this team go on a run in January.