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The Houston Texans have placed two key players on the Injured Reserve.
Wide receiver Tank Dell and safety Jimmie Ward are both heading to the IR, as reported by Ian Rapoport. Dell suffered a terrifying knee injury during a touchdown last weekend in a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game it was definitely “significant” and it was announced that Dell sustained a dislocated knee and torn ACL, ending his season. He just underwent surgery. Dell missed one game earlier in the campaign and he was also shot in April. It's been a difficult year for Dell, but when healthy, the youngster performed well.
Dell reeled in 51 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns for an average of 13.1 yards per catch. Especially with Stefon Diggs out, Dell was an important target for quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Texans signal-caller was visibly emotional on the field after Dell went down last Saturday with the scary injury.
As for Ward, he's also an integral part of this Houston defense. He will miss the rest of the campaign with a foot injury, as Ryans revealed on Monday. Ward had 48 tackles, 16 solo tackles, and two interceptions in 10 games in 2024.
Houston is dealing with a flurry of injuries but Ryans wants to see his group to stay focused on the task at hand — finishing strong before the playoffs.
Via NFL.com:
“You have to. It's easy to sit in, and it still hurts. It'll always be there with us,” Ryans said. “I don't think the emotional piece will leave us 'cause those guys are important pieces to our team and just really great people as well for our team, for our locker room. They meant a lot to us. So losing them is hard. It's hard to move on, but what's in front of us, we're here. We've got the Ravens coming into our house. We have to move on. Easier said than done, of course, with such tough news to hear, but we have to, and that's what we'll do. You have to have other guys step up, and we have to move forward. Our next teammate, they don't care.”
The Texans, who are set to host a playoff game after clinching the AFC South title, will clash with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas.
