The Houston Texans suffered conflicting emotions during their Week 16 game with the Kansas City Chiefs. Tank Dell caught a touchdown to bring his team back to almost level in the game, but he also suffered a brutal-looking injury. Dell crumpled to the ground as he caught the touchdown, managing to hold onto the ball but unable to get back to his feet.
Let’s examine what happened, the latest injury update, and the fantasy football impact of the injury to Dell in Week 16 against the Chiefs.
What Happened to Tank Dell?
As Tank Dell caught a touchdown in the third quarter, his teammate, Jared Wayne, caught him in the back of the leg, and both crashed to the ground.
Dell managed to cling onto the touchdown but stayed down and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. Dell was carted from the field as the stadium was hushed.
Here's the play where Tank Dell was injuredpic.twitter.com/wlILO6gPB9
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 21, 2024
Dell’s teammates took a knee and then gathered around him as he was lifted onto the cart. His teammates looked emotional as they stood around him as he was taken from the field. Quarterback C.J. Stroud looked particularly distressed as he was comforted by his teammates and head coach DeMeco Ryans. As if to emphasize the impact the injury had on the team, Ka’imi Fairbairn missed his first extra point of the season on the next snap.
Dell was officially ruled out shortly after leaving the field. He was put in a vacuum splint as he left the field. That is used when there is concern about severe instability or fracture. It stabilizes from the hip to the foot, and Dell was then taken to a Level 1 Trauma Center at the University of Kansas Hospital.
Ryans told reporters after the game that Dell will remain at a Kansas City hospital overnight with a “significant” knee injury.
“It’s tough to see guys get injured, the work that guys put in, how much they put their bodies on the line to play this game,” Ryans said. “It’s deeper than football. We are talking about real people who have real emotions and real feelings who are going through a tough time right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in that situation.”
How Long Will Dell Be Out?
On Tuesday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reported that in addition to tearing his ACL and dislocating his kneecap, Dell also tore his medial collateral and lateral collateral ligaments as well as damaging his meniscus.
Due to the timing and severity of the injury, Dell playing in the 2025 season “is regarded as an extremely unlikely scenario,” according to Wilson. He added that Dell will need multiple surgeries and has “a long, grueling road of recovery ahead of him.”
Former NFL team doctor David Chao and owner of Sports Injury Central believes the injury is potentially career-threatening.
“This is a much more difficult recovery than just an ACL, it’s a knee dislocation with three of four major ligaments torn and it’s a long road back,” Dr. Chao told KPRC 2. “Unfortunately, it has to be considered career-threatening, but we all hope not career-ending. Surgery is usually staged with this severe an injury. Whatever you can repair, you repair now, the MCL and LCL. The ACL is typically a reconstruction and you delay that until later when swelling goes down and there’s more mobility.
“A typical recovery timetable, it would be great if he could participate at some point next season, but it’s far from guaranteed he will play at any point next season. It’s similar to what happened with Browns running back Nick Chubb. They’re both knee dislocations, but not all knee dislocations are the same. This is a much more complicated surgery process than an isolated ACL and, as such, it’s going to be multiple surgeries and lots of follow-up. As much as this is a devastating injury, Nick Chubb did return to play his next season. Let’s hope for a similar good outcome for Tank Dell.”
This lines up with a recent report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who also noted that Dell’s availability for the 2025 season is in doubt.
Dell missed the end of last season with a broken fibula, which was sustained on Dec. 3 when blocking on a run near the goal line. This injury makes it two devastating injuries in two seasons for the young wide receiver. The timing of this is particularly cruel when it felt like Dell was just getting back to his best after the injury as a rookie.
The touchdown catch took Dell to 98 yards and a score on six receptions from seven targets. Dell entered the game with 569 receiving yards and two touchdowns from 45 receptions on 74 targets, averaging 7.7 yards per target and 43.8 yards per game.
It has definitely been a slower season for Dell than his rookie year when he averaged 9.5 yards per target and 43.8 yards per game. Dell also scored seven touchdowns as a rookie, adding a further two this season. He has also carried the ball 20 times in his career for 94 yards.
What is the Fantasy Impact of Dell’s Injury?
Dell had accounted for half of Houston’s receiving yards at the time of the injury and was in the midst of his best game of the season. This injury comes just over a year after a fibula injury ended his rookie season prematurely, and his status moving forward into 2025 will be something to watch.
As for the stretch run this year, John Metchie III was inactive for his game, leaving Robert Woods as the secondary receiver most likely to pick up looks next to Nico Collins. In all likelihood, the veteran receiver doesn’t see enough high-value looks to return value, making him a thin add at this point. Dalton Schultz’s role could expand and at the TE position, any level of consistent involvement has the potential to slide into the top-10 at the position.
Schultz scored in the first half on a C.J. Stroud scramble — he’s shaping up to be a viable name and potential difference-maker in fantasy Super Bowls with the Ravens coming to town on Christmas Day.