HOUSTON – Inside the Texans training facility, Tank Dell has become a fixture as he works overtime to recover from a devastating and complicated knee injury with major progress afoot.
Dell suffered a gruesome knee injury in December and has already undergone two successful surgical procedures as part of the aftercare needed to deal with extensive damage to his left knee suffered while catching a touchdown pass against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Dell had his anterior cruciate ligament repaired with a standard reconstruction procedure. And he had his lateral collateral ligament and medial collateral ligaments repaired as former Texans team doctor Walter Lowe performed both procedures, per league sources.
Dell is making significant progress in his recovery in terms of mobility, flexibility and activity, per sources. While Dell is expected to begin the season on injured reserve and will likely miss the entire season, the team hasn’t been specific about his time table other than to emphasize how well he’s doing.
“I talk to Tank all the time, Tank is doing great,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday during the team’s annual charity golf event in Houston. “He’s in good spirits. He is on the road to recovery. He is doing really well on his rehab process. He’s in a really good spot, so excited to see how that continues to progress.
“For Tank, I want him to continue to get better and continue to attack each day of the rehab process the right way like he’s been doing with a great attitude. He’ll be back when it’s time for Tank to be back. There’s nothing to rush. There’s no set timeline or ‘We need him back by this certain day.’ We need Tank back when Tank is ready to be Tank and that’s good enough for me."
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans update on Tank Dell recovery from torn ACL, MCL, LCL, dislocated knee cap 'in great spirits,' not specifying return date, focus on not rushing him at all as he works his way back from devastating knee injury @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/EYJNmqVDIn
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 5, 2025
Although it’s going to be an extremely long road back, the former University of Houston standout is expected to eventually make a full recovery, per sources, and have the opportunity to resume his career at some point, likely by the 2026 season. Dell dislocated his entire knee, too, in addition to tearing three knee ligaments.
Dell suffered a season-ending injury while catching a pass in the back of the end zone when teammate Jared Wayne collided with his leg.
“This is a much more difficult recovery than just an ACL, it’s a knee dislocation with three of four major ligaments torn and it’s a long road back,” former 17-year NFL team head doctor David Chao, an orthopedic surgeon and the owner of Sports Injury Central, a website that analyzes sports injuries, told KPRC 2 in a telephone interview. “Unfortunately, it has to be considered career threatening, but we all hope not career-ending. Surgery is usually staged with this severe an injury. Whatever you can repair, you repair now, the MCL and LCL. The ACL is typically a reconstruction and you delay that until later when swelling goes down and there’s more mobility.
“A typical recovery timetable, it would be great if he could participate at some point next season, but it’s far from guaranteed he will play at any point next season. It’s similar to what happened with Browns running back Nick Chubb. They’re both knee dislocations, but not all knee dislocations are the same. This is a much more complicated surgery process than an isolated ACL and, as such, it’s going to be multiple surgeries and lots of follow-up. As much as this is a devastating injury, Nick Chubb did return to play his next season. Let’s hope for a similar good outcome for Tank Dell.”
The knee injury marked the latest adversity for Dell, 25, whose dynamic rookie season last year was ended prematurely by a broken fibula that required surgery to repair the damage. Months later, Dell was the victim of a gunshot wound in his leg during a mass shooting in Florida while attending a party as an innocent bystander.
Dell posted a broken heart on social media as well as an inspirational video on TikTok with the caption: “When you want something so bad, you got a different attachment to it.” with the hashtag #noretreatnosurrender.
When Texans veteran safety and team captain Jimmie Ward was healthy, he delivered impactful plays with his hard-hitting, instinctive style.
The defending AFC South champions want to see more from Ward next season once he fully recovers from a sprained foot that required surgery and ended his season in December.
Ward is out of the walking boot and running again.
“Jimmie’s doing fine,” Ryans said. “Jimmie is on the road to recovery as well. He’s doing fine. He is out of his boot now. He starting to get back to get to running a little bit. So, he’s in a good spot.”
Limited to 10 games overall, Ward was effective when he was in the lineup with 48 tackles, five for losses, two interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans. Ward was a key piece of the defense as the replacement for standout nickel Jalen Pitre. Since replacing Pitre in the lineup, Ward returned the interception for a touchdown and recorded 24 tackles with four for losses and two passes defensed over the last month of the season.
Before the season, Ward signed a one-year, $10.302 million extension that included a $5.25 million signing bonus and $8.75 million guaranteed. He’s due a $2.75 million base salary in 2025 with $2 million of it fully guaranteed, per game active roster bonuses up to $500,000, and $750,000 in not likely to be earned incentives for playing time. He has a $5.669 million salary cap figure.
Ward has been limited to 20 games for the Texans over the past two seasons due to injuries.
The Texans traded for veteran safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and have installed him as their starting strong safety opposite starting free safety Calen Bullock.
“Jimmie is a great football player,” Ryans said. “I love Jimmie. I love how he plays the game. Whenever Jimmie is ready, I know Jimmie can help our football team win games. We saw him make game-changing plays for us, big-time plays and big moments.
“Whenever he’s out there, he’ll do it. He’s a football player. So what I love about him, he’s played multiple spots in the defense. So, I’m excited to see just whenever he is ready. It doesn’t hurt to have a lot of good safeties on the team."
Ward played the nickel spot for Ryans when he was the San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator and followed him to Houston to play safety on a two-year, $12.81 million deal. Ryans has confidence in Ward’s skills, toughness and versatility.
“Yeah, Jimmie has played a lot of spots for us and Jimmie is a versatile player,” Ryans said during the season. “He has played in the back end. He can play all over the back end, and he’s been a good playmaker for us.
“Wherever he lines up, it will be dynamic and he’ll make some plays. He flies around and has a swarming mentality, so wherever we put him, that’s what he’ll do.”
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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
