Nothing went the Houston Texans’ way in Sunday’s 34-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and things went from bad to worse near the end of the game. Starting wide receiver Tank Dell, one of the breakout stars in the NFL last season, left the game with a hand injury, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston.
“#Texans wide receiver Tank Dell hurt at end of the game, hand-wrist area. Still being evaluated after loss to #Vikings,” Wilson reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Before the injury, Dell was having his best game of the young season, reeling in five passes for 62 yards. So far, however, it has been a slow start for Dell in 2024. Over the first two games of the season, Dell had just four catches for 37 yards and had been the clear third option in the Texans’ wide receiver room after the addition of Stefon Diggs.
Dell was one of the best rookies in the NFL last season and a pleasant surprise for the Texans. He showed instant synergy with C.J. Stroud and hauled in 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games before a leg injury ended his season.
The Texans will need Dell out there creating the kind of explosive deep passes that he did last year. So far this season, Stroud and the Houston passing game hasn’t been poor by any means, but they’ve been a little inconsistent, which was unexpected for a team with such a good quarterback and receiving talent.
They were especially out of sync against the Vikings and Brian Flores’ defense, which has given even the best offenses fits since he became the defensive coordinator. Stroud struggled mightily with all of the exotic looks that Flores was presenting him, throwing his first two interceptions of the season in the loss.
The Texans have already been pretty banged up at the skill positions this season, and now they await an update on Dell’s status.
