Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is spending the 2025 NFL offseason recovering from a significant, season-ending knee injury he suffered in the team’s Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, Dell’s efforts to return from the catastrophic knee injury are going well.
‘Tank is doing great,’ Ryans told reporters Monday, per KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson. ‘He’s in good spirits. He’s on the road to recovery. He’s doing really well on his rehab process. He’s in a really good spot, so excited to see how that continues to progress.’
Dell’s injury occurred after he collided with his teammate, Jared Wayne while trying to make a play in the end zone. The 2023 second-round pick dislocated his knee on the play, damaged his meniscus and tore his ACL, MCL and LCL as a result of the collision.
‘He’ll be back when it’s time for Tank to be back,’ Ryans said. ‘There’s nothing to rush. There’s no set timeline or we need him back by this certain date. We need Tank back when Tank is ready to be Tank, and that’s good enough for me.’
The Texans spent significant resources on their receiver room during the 2025 NFL offseason. They traded for Christian Kirk, signed veterans Justin Watson and Braxton Berrios in free agency and spent second- and third-round selections on a couple of Iowa State wide-outs, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, in the 2025 NFL Draft.
These moves were made, in part, to help replace Stefon Diggs – who signed with the New England Patriots in free agency – but also to provide a buffer for Dell and allow him to focus on Ryans’ No. 1 goal for him.
‘For Tank, I want him to continue to get better, continue to attack each day of the rehab process the right way, like he’s been doing, with a great attitude,’ Ryans said.