What Tank Dell's Participation at Texans OTAs Says About His Health

The Houston Texans have officially gotten rolling for their second of three days in offseason OTAs.

And in the process of the Texans taking the field on Thursday, wide receiver Tank Dell was among the several players in attendance, who's gradually making his way back from his severe leg injury suffered during the 2024 season.

However, while Dell was at the Texans’ practice, he would be held out from participating in the action.

Tank Dell is here at practice but is not participating. pic.twitter.com/4VKMIKbCs0
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) May 28, 2026

Dell has been sidelined for the Texans dating back to December of 2024 when the wideout first suffered his leg injury against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16 of the regular season.

The injury had left Dell with a torn left ACL, MCL, LCL, and meniscus, carted off from the field, and subject to a lengthy recovery to get back on the field in full capacity. He would be held out for all of the 2025 campaign, and now hopes to get back in the mix at some point this season.

Texans Taking Tank Dell's Recovery Slow and Steady

It seems for the Texans, though, they're doing their best to bring Dell and his workload along slowly headed into this season to ensure he's back to 100% and well-recovered from his devastating injury.

That means holding him out of OTAs participation if it's the best for his long-term health, which seems to be the decision in place from Houston and their staff.

#Texans taking patient, long term approach with Tank Dell as he works his way back @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/Ulv51bqgYh
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 28, 2026

The idea of bringing Dell along slowly this season isn't anything we haven't heard from the Texans before during this offseason.

At the NFL owners meeting in Arizona in March, head coach DeMeco Ryans emphasized the long-term approach of getting his explosive wideout back to full speed, and alluded to him being held out of the OTAs process being a possibility in the cards.

"Tank, he's grinding. Great attitude," Ryans said back in March, viaKPRC2's Aaron Wilson. "Don't know if OTAs he'll be there, but I know he'll back for us at some point this year. As I told Tank, it's not a matter of getting back to OTAs just to get back, it's just a matter of getting back in a really good spot physically to where you stay there."

"That's the main thing. It's not about how quickly he returns. It's just about Tank returning because we saw what Tank can do, the playmaking that he provides to our entire team. Just getting him back, whenever that time is, it's going to lift our team."

The last time Dell was on the field for the Texans during the 2024 season, he appeared in 14 games for a total of 51 receptions, 667 yards, and three touchdowns as a valuable target for quarterback C.J. Stroud.

When healthy, his explosive playmaking and downfield ability add another layer of versatility to this Houston offense.

Sep 22, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (3) runs the ball against the Minnesota Vikings during the third quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

To see Dell at least in attendance and suited up for OTAs is a good sign, even if not a full participant. The Texans wideout still has over three months to go before the 2026 regular season kicks off, so there's really no need to rush his recovery process along.

Dell will have several opportunities to put the helmet on moving forward into the offseason, whether that be at minicamps later next month, or in training camp further down the line in July, if that's what it takes to get the Texans' wideout back to 100%.

But for now, the Texans will be turning elsewhere at the wide receiver position. And considering Houston has 13 total names at wideout on their 90-man roster, the offense should have no problem finding added competition to help fill his spot on the outside in the meantime.

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