When the time comes, hopefully Houston Texans fans can trade-in their old Tank Dell jerseys in 2026.
Dell, who missed all of last season while dealing with several lower-body injuries, is expected to change his number from No. 3 to his college No. 1 enterting the final year of his rookie contract. The number previously belonged to wideout Stefon Diggs in 2024 and defensive back Jimmie Ward before that in 2023.
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On Wednesday, Dell posted to his Instagram account a picture of himself preparing for the next season. The caption? A simple message: “With a different number ofc (of course)…” along with the eyeball emoji.
Dell, who left in the 2024 December showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, has constantly been around the team’s facility since the start of his rehabilitation. While away from the team on the field, Dell was often seen on the sidelines during home games during the regular season, including the season finale victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
Last week at Radio Row ahead of the Super Bowl, Texans general manager Nick Caserio detailed on Sports Radio 610’s “Payne and Pendergast” that while it was a long shot for Dell to play in the position, nothing was off the table entering the final stages of the regular season.
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“We were kind of like, ‘well maybe there’s a shot that he’ll be able to go at the end of the season,’ but it just didn’t turn out that way,” Caserio said. “He’s kind of ready to go here. I think he’ll be able to go hopefully in April. He’s there training just about every day, so the big step for him will be once he’s out of rehab mode, once he’s actually on the field and you actually start running and cutting in a more true football type environment and what that actually looks like.”
A 2023 third-round pick out of the University of Houston, Dell emerged as an elite playmaker during his rookie season, totaling 709 receiving yards and seven touchdowns before suffering a season-ending leg injury in a win over the Denver Broncos.
In 2024, Dell started slowly, but eventually found his footing as the No. 2 receiver opposite Nico Collins, totaling 667 receiving yards and three touchdowns in 14 games.
The Texans believe a healthy Dell should open up the playbook for second-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley alongside Collins and quarterback C.J. Stroud. A number change could potentially bring back the elite playmaker from Houston, who led the FBS in both receptions (109), receiving yards (1,398) and touchdown receptions (17) in 2022 while helping the Cougars finish 8-5.
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“Overall, he’s probably not quite to where he was, but he’s trending that way,” Caserio said.
The Texans own the No. 28 pick in the upcoming NFL draft.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans: Tank Dell rumored to switch to No. 1 in 2026 after injury.