Tank Dell Is Back: 600 Days After His Knee Injury, a 43-Yard Catch and a Punt Return in His Texans Return
The 2-5 Texans do not have much to celebrate in the bye week - but Dell's return after more than 600 days out, on 10 offensive snaps, is the one bright line: a 43-yard first catch since Kansas City, punt-return duty when Noel went down, and a receiver already asking to come off the snap count.
There is not much to celebrate around a two-win Houston Texans team entering the bye week, but Tank Dell is brightening things up, Texans Wire reported Wednesday. Dell, who missed over 600 days of football after suffering a catastrophic knee injury in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024, finally made his return in Week 7's 27-21 overtime loss to the New York Giants - a day the Texans marked by naming him the final player in the offensive introductions. Dell said he woke up at 5 o'clock in the morning and did not go back to sleep: 'People thought I was going to be nervous or whatever. I didn't feel any nervousness; I felt more anxious than anything, like jittery, ready to just get out there.'
The former third-round pick showed the old flash twice. In the second quarter he broke free and recorded his first reception since the touchdown at Arrowhead Stadium - a 43-yard strike from C.J. Stroud that pushed Houston just outside the red zone. When Jaylin Noel suffered a foot injury in the fourth quarter, Dell also took over punt return duties and recorded a 14-yard return to help set up a scoring chance. 'I'm grateful for everything, but I'm a playmaker, man,' Dell said. 'I'm so used to making those plays and there's so many more to come.'
The unknown going in was contact: Dell had been cleared to play but had not participated in a physical practice since training camp in 2024, and no one knew how his body would hold up to his first tackle in two seasons. He laughed when asked about the fear of getting hit and never flinched colliding with a pair of Giants defenders in space. 'That was probably a worry of y'all's or everybody else out there, but for me, I've been playing football for 20 years and I've never cared about getting tackled,' Dell said. 'It felt cool, actually.'
For now Dell is still on a snap count - 10 official snaps on offense and another on special teams on Sunday - but Noel's potential absence with a turf toe injury could create a larger role in the receiver room. Dell is lobbying for exactly that: 'I don't know about increasing the snap count; I need to come all the way off of that,' he said. 'I'm ready to roll.' The Texans hope he is good for a larger impact after the bye, when they travel to SoFi Stadium to take on the Los Angeles Chargers on November 8.
