The Houston Texans were dealt a scary blow on Saturday as their No. 2 receiver, Tank Dell, went out with a “significant knee injury,” according to coach DeMeco Ryans.
“Right now, he’s flying back to Houston,” Ryans said in his postgame press conference. “We’ll still be evaluating, see where he is, still meeting with doctors to see what’s next for him, but it is a significant knee injury, and our thoughts and prayers are with him.”
Dell went down with the injury during Saturday’s 27-19 loss to the Chiefs, and multiple reports have indicated that he suffered a dislocated knee cap, which would effectively end his season and put part of next year at risk.
Ryans did not confirm the exact injury.
“We’re still evaluating it to see what will happen with it,” Ryans said. “He still has to talk to doctors and go through all of the procedures there. At the same note, we would like to thank the Kansas City medical team and the doctors there and their staff being very accommodating for him, getting him a room, getting him all setup.”
The injury occurred while Dell was in the middle of one of his best games of the season, having caught seven pᴀsses for 98 yards and a touchdown. But a pile-up at the back of the endzone resulted in his leg being crushed as he collided with teammate Jared Wayne and Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie with 11:40 remaining in the third quarter.
Dell was still able to come down with a 30-yard touchdown on the play.
The Texans’ second-year receiver is coming off a broken fibula in 2023 that cut his season short last year.
Texans and Chiefs players looked on at the injury in horror, including CJ Stroud, who was visibly crying on the field.
