Tank Dell Set to Return for Texans Sunday vs. Giants

Tank Dell is finally coming back. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed on Monday that Dell will play Sunday when Houston hosts the New York Giants, his first game since a devastating knee injury on Dec. 21, 2024.

"Tank is doing an outstanding job these past two weeks of practicing," Ryans said. "We are all excited and we'll see Tank out there on Sunday vs. the Giants."

Where Tank Dell has been

Dell got hurt in Kansas City on what should have been a highlight. He caught a 30-yard touchdown from C.J. Stroud and collided with teammate Jared Wayne on the play, and the damage was a torn ACL, a dislocated kneecap and more in his left knee. He had six catches for 98 yards and that touchdown before he went down. He sat out all of 2025, and Sunday will be his first game in more than 670 days, per NFL.com.

Fans remember what he looked like before that. As a third-round rookie in 2023, Dell caught 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games.

A crowded Texans receiver room

Ryans isn't putting a number on it. "I expect Tank just to be himself and just play the offense the right way," he said. "No huge expectations from what he needs to do."

He did say Dell has been a problem for his own defense in practice. "As we all know, Tank is an explosive player," Ryans said. "He's still quick as ever. As our defenders who was covering him the past couple weeks, he's been putting us in some tough matchups and practice the past two weeks."

Houston has been careful with him. The Texans slowly ramped up his practice work over the last few weeks, wary of overloading him too soon after so much time off, per NFL.com.

Dell walks into a deeper group than the one he left. Nico Collins is healthy, second-year receiver Jaylin Noel is coming off the first 100-yard game of his career, and Houston traded for Marvin Harrison Jr., who had three catches for 34 yards in his Texans debut. Kayshon Boutte and Xavier Hutchinson are in the mix too. NFL.com expects the Texans to ease Dell into the rotation, so treat him as a fantasy stash this week, not a start.

What's next for Houston

The Texans are 2-4 after Ka'imi Fairbairn's walk-off field goal beat the Jaguars in London, and the Giants come to Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. Dell running out of that tunnel is the moment Texans fans have been waiting on for almost two years.