The Texans drafted Tank Dell back in the 2023 NFL draft with the 69th overall pick, and he’s yet to play a whole season. Why? Simple: his career has been anything but smooth. Of course, it’s just been a couple of seasons, but it is what it is. Take his rookie season, for instance. The wideout was making waves with 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns.
Then came the week 13 showdown against the Broncos, and while blocking on a touchdown run, a pile-up led to a fractured fibula, ending his season prematurely. Fast forward to April 2024, and he was caught in a nightclub shooting in Sanford, Florida. A stray bullet grazed his leg, but thankfully, there was no structural damage, and he made a full recovery. But things got worse from there.
Year 2, week 16 showdown against the Chiefs, Dell caught a 30-yard touchdown pass but collided with teammate Jared Wayne in the end zone. The result? A dislocated knee and torn ACL, LCL, and MCL. Just like that. Three out of four ligaments were gone. Before injury, he had 51 catches for 667 yards and three touchdowns. But now, it looks like the wide receiver is unlikely to return in the 2025 season.
After the gruesome knee injury, Dell has already undergone two successful surgical procedures. But the recovery? It’s too difficult. And Dr. David Chao just shed light on his recovery. “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,” Chao told KPRC 2 in a telephone interview.
“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.” You see, a torn ACL alone is already a big deal for an athlete. But multiple ligaments?
We’re talking ACL, MCL, and LCL here, folks. The whole knee basically checks out at that point. And the roughest part? The recovery. This isn’t your typical 9–12 month bounce-back like a plain ACL tear. Nope. It’s way messier than that. We’re lookin’ at a much longer, trickier road—and that’s if everything goes right. “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,” Dr. Chao said.
Long story short: with three torn ligaments, the recovery at least requires 12-18 months. Tank Dell acquired the injury back in December 2024. And that means only one thing. He’s probably not going to play in the 2025 season. Hope for the 2026 season.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans believes that Tank Dell is doing great
If we talk about repairing multiple ligaments, it requires multiple surgeries. In the case of Tank Dell, the 25-year-old wideout has already undergone a couple of surgical procedures. But what matters most is careful rehabilitation. Get this: to tackle a career-threatening injury like this, a proper rehabilitation requires for avoiding complicated stiffness, instability, or long-term mobility issues.
And looks like the wideout is doing a great job at rehab—at least, that’s what the Texans’ head coach, DeMeco Ryans confirmed. Though the Houston team hasn’t clarified the possible timeline of his return, but the head coach just emphasized how well he’s doing. “I talk to Tank all the time, Tank is doing great,” Ryans noted during the team’s annual charity golf event in Houston.
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans update on Tank Dell recovery from torn ACL, MCL, LCL, dislocated knee cap ‘in great spirits,’ not specifying return date, focus on not rushing him at all as he works his way back from devastating knee injury @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/EYJNmqVDIn
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 5, 2025
“He’s in good spirits, he is on the road to recovery, he is doing really well on his rehab process. He’s in a really good spot, so excited to see how that continues to progress.” Dell is reportedly making progress in mobility, flexibility, and activity. Though most of the folks believe that Dell is reportedly out of the 2025 season, and will return next year, but the head coach admitted that they’re not rushing his return.
“He’ll be back when it’s time for Tank to be back. There’s nothing to rush. There’s no set timeline or ‘We need him back by this certain day.’ We need Tank back when Tank is ready to be Tank and that’s good enough for me.” In his absence, the Texans addressed their receiving room. For starters, they traded for Christian Kirk, signed veterans Justin Watson and Braxton Berrios in free agency. Besides, they also picked Iowa State wide-outs, Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel, in the 2025 NFL draft.
The post “3/4 Major Ligaments Torn”: NFL Doctor Shares Tank Dell Injury News After DeMeco Ryans’ Update appeared first on EssentiallySports.