Texans’ Tank Dell suffered ‘significant’ knee injury in loss to Chiefs; WR remains in the hospital overnight

Dell’s entire left leg was stabilized in an air cast and he was placed on a stretcher before being carted off the field. He was then transported by ambulance to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he will remain overnight.

Despite the TD catch that gave Houston a chance to tie the game, Dell’s injury was an emotional scene for the Texans.

Stroud, who was part of the Texans’ 2023 draft class along with Dell, was clearly distraught by the injury, refraining from any immediate celebration of his TD throw and becoming overcome with emotion as he and his teammates huddled around Dell.

“That’s my best friend,” Stroud said after the game. “I went 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 that marked the 25-year-old’s return to form, a little more than a year removed from suffering a broken leg that ended his impressive rookie campaign.

“You guys saw what he means to our whole team. It hurt. It hurts to see him go down like that,” Ryans said. “He had a great game and played really well for us. He was in a great spot. We just want to keep him in our thoughts and prayers right now.”

Houston’s WR corps has dealt with injuries all season, with Nico Collins missing several games with a hamstring injury and Stefon Diggs suffering an ACL tear in Week 8.

The Texans still managed to win their second straight AFC South title after last week’s win over the Miami Dolphins despite it all, but Dell’s injury on Saturday looms as a massive blow to a playoff-bound team.