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Tank Dell #3 of the Houston Texans looks on from the sideline during a game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Houston Cougars.
Tank Dell is unwavering, despite the Houston Texans wide receiver encountering significant injury setbacks in two of his three seasons in the NFL.
Texans general manager Nick Caserio is charged with being much more realistic in his role, building out the roster. Caserio has been candid about Dell, and that continued during Super Bowl week, even though the Texans are not participating.
The stage is undoubtedly set for a bounce-back 2026 campaign for the third-year wideout.
Texans GM Nick Caserio Gets Honest About Tank Dell
GettyTank Dell #3 of the Houston Texans looks on from the sideline during a game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Houston Cougars.
Caserio doubled down on his assertion that Dell was close to returning for the Texans this past season and pushed to do so, but it simply did not work out that way.
The No. 69 overall pick of the 2023 draft is “ready to go,” though, according to Caserio. Dell last played in Week 16 of the 2024 season. The layoff has inevitably led to questions about whether Dell will be the same player he was before the devastating injury.
Caserio expects to know more in April, when they hope Dell can take a “big step.”
“We’re fortunate. We were able to get a lot of data on the players and we use it to really it’s two-fold to help educate them. And also to provide some benchmarks,” Caserio said on “Clancy & Pendergast” on February 5. “The good thing about Tank, he’s been with us from the beginning.
“It’ll be, probably, a slow-moving target. But you do have some patience, because we have a lot of data on our system, which we can utilize.”
Caserio did not mince words about the kind of player the Texans saw in Dell during the pre-draft process. He noted that Dell was unguardable during Senior Bowl practices in 2023 due to his “change-of-direction” skills. They must wait and see if he can still be that player.
“Overall, he’s probably not quite to where he was,” Caserio said. “But he’s trending that way.”
Caserio noted that there are “a lot of checkpoints” Dell still has to clear, but has asserted that the Texans’ playmaker has maintained the right mindset.
Tank Dell Makes ‘Legendary’ Claim
GettyTank Dell #3 of the Houston Texans runs onto the field before facing the Miami Dolphins.
Dell reacted to being doubted this season, when Caserio previously noted the Texans’ uncertainty about whether he can bounce all the way back. He more recently provided context about his adamant mindset towards getting back on the field.
Dell said that his goals off the field are to “take care of the fam,” but that “all I’m focused on is ball,” and how that has taught him patience.
“I never had a Plan B. Dead serious. I always knew it’s the league or nothing for me. It’s the league or it’s nothing with me, bro. I ain’t never want to be–didn’t want to be no street dude. I ain’t want to be nothing else, I wanted to go to the NFL, take care of my family,” Dell said on the “Life Without The Game” podcast on February 3.
“My dreams is really just to get back out there, because I haven’t scratched surface yet. That’s how I feel. I had a okay rookie year. Really had a bad–my second year, I felt like to me personally, it wasn’t a good year at all. And I ain’t–I feel like–I haven’t scratched the surface yet to be who I am and to be what I know I can be in the NFL. So, my dreams, I’m trying to be a legend. I’m trying to be legendary.”
Notably, Caserio praised Dell’s productivity since the Texans drafted him.
He noted that the receiver has a “better understanding” of “where he is now and what he can and can’t do” on the football field in the NFL. Caserio also believes the year to sit and observe “from a different lens” could benefit Dell in that regard.
Texans Face Tank Dell Decision
GettyTank Dell #3 of the Houston Texans looks on against the Chicago Bears.
The Texans’ financial situation looms over their offseason planning, and Dell could find himself on the wrong side of the equation.
“Injuries have been the unfortunate story throughout Dell’s young career, and he heads into a contract year in 2026,” Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti wrote in January. “Houston can free up over $1.5M of space by moving on.”
However, that is modest savings for a player who still means a lot to the team.
Dell’s future with the Texans seems far more certain than some of his current teammates heading into the offseason.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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