So, what's the new updated timeline for a Tank Dell return in Houston?
As theHouston Texansprepare for their Week 1 opener against the Buffalo Bills, Dell, who remains a part of the team's future, will start the season on the injured reserve. That means he'll miss four games and be cleared to begin practicing ahead of a divisional round matchup against the Tennessee Titans in Week 5 at the earliest.
Dell, who tore his ACL, MCL, LCL and other ligaments during a game against Kansas City in December 2024, has practiced in spurts this offseason, mostly running individual drills with light padding. Still, he's yet to be cleared for contact drills and hasn't run formations with the team at full speed in practice.
General manager Nick Caserio didn't put
a timeline on a return date, but offered positive updates on the rehabilitation process ahead of Week 1's AFC battle.
Nick Caserio on Tank Dell:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) September 1, 2026
“Defintley making progress. He’s close. He’s not quite there. We’ll have a better idea after four weeks. He’s defintley closer now than he was in training camp.” pic.twitter.com/3u7SO5UCcu
"He is close. He is not quite there, which is why he's in the category that he's in," Dell said. "I think we'll have a better idea with a lot of these guys after four weeks, four games, whatever it is. I'd say he's definitely closer now than he was let's say in Training Camp. There's a little bit more work that remains. But overall, he's in pretty good spirits. There are certain things we just have to see."
Close is an interesting word to choose. What exactly does that mean? Is Dell close to returning to live reps? What about practice? Is he simply close to the next step, which could be in a long line of steps that still must be accomplished before he returns?
Caserio tried to clarify the phrasing, though all it signaled there were still going to be more hills to climb before Dell would be clered to play in an actual game this fall.
"We'll kind of see where those players are in terms of reincorporating them back into practice. Whenever you start those players, they have 21 days technically before you have to activate them or you're forced to make a decision," Caserio said. "I think we'll have a little more information once we get into October on a lot of those players.”
Dell, who had totaled 98 catches for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns in 25 games during his two healthy seasons, said early in training camp he wouldn't push himself beyond his limits, but the plan was for him to return "better than before."
Texans fans would love nothing more than to see Dell take another step forward, but at this point, they just want to see No. 1 step foot on a field again.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans GM Nick Caserio says WR Tank Dell is 'close to return' but what exactly does that mean?
