Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a "significant" knee injury in Saturday's 27-19 loss to the Chiefs and it will require him to remain in a Kansas City-area hospital overnight for further evaluation, head coach DeMeco Ryans announced.
"Tank had a significant knee injury and he'll be staying here in Kansas City overnight getting further evaluations, and we'll get an update tomorrow on him," Ryans said. "Just all our thoughts and prayers are with Tank right now."
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports that while doctors are still working to determine the extent of his injury, Dell did suffer a dislocated kneecap. Rapoport adds that surgery is possible, but it has not yet happened.
Dell's injury occurred during his impressive touchdown catch early in the third quarter. The second-year WR hauled in a 30-yard pass from C.J. Stroud in the back of the end zone, but teammate Jared Wayne's diving body undercut the legs of Dell, who remained on the turf in pain.
Dell's entire left leg was stabilized in an air cast and he was put on a stretcher before being carted off the field. He was then transported via ambulance to the University of Kansas medical center, where he will stay overnight.
Despite the TD catch giving Houston a chance at tying the game, Dell's injury was an emotional scene for the Texans.
Stroud, who was part of the Texans' 2023 draft class alongside Dell, was clearly distraught by the injury, refraining from any immediate celebration of his TD throw and becoming overcome with emotion once he and his teammates huddled around Dell.
"That's my best friend," Stroud said postgame. "I was going through it."
Dell led the Texans in receiving on Saturday with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown. It was the type of performance which showed that the 25-year-old was returning to form a little more than one year removed from suffering a fractured leg which ended his impressive rookie campaign.
"You guys have seen what he means to our entire team. It hurt. It hurts to see him go down like that," Ryans said. "He was having a fantastic game, playing really well for us. He was in a fantastic spot. We just want to keep him in our thoughts and prayers right now."
Houston's WR corps has dealt with injury all season with Nico Collins missing several games due to a hamstring injury and Stefon Diggs suffering a season-ending ACL tear in Week 8.
The Texans still managed to clinch their second consecutive AFC South title following last week's win over the Miami Dolphins despite it all, but Dell's injury on Saturday portends to be a massive blow for a playoff-bound team.
