Tank Dell's long road to recovery begins.
Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed that Dell suffered a dislocated kneecap in Sunday's loss to Kansas City. He added that the wideout also tore his ACL along with other damage.
Dell will undergo surgery and is out for the season. Ryans noted that defensive back Jimmie Ward will undergo foot surgery and is also out for the year. Both Dell and Ward have since been placed on injured reserve.
The head coach said the team must soldier on, quickly turning the page ahead of Wednesday's Christmas showdown against the Baltimore Ravens.
"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."
Dell's loss takes another hunk out of the Texans' passing attack that already lost Stefon Diggs earlier this season.
"You can't replace a Tank Dell. You can't replace a Stefon Diggs," offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. "You can't replace a Brevin Jordan. Each of them brings things that make them special, and I think Tank has a lot of things in football that make him special, and he was showing them on Saturday against the Chiefs."
Dell caught an excellent 30-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to pull Houston within one point of the Chiefs, but teammate Jared Wayne collided with Dell's legs, causing an awkward fall and injury.
The gruesome injury is the second consecutive December season-ender for the second-year receiver. After some shaky moments early in the season after last year's fractured fibula and being wounded in a shooting in the offseason, Dell caught his stride in the middle of the campaign. He finished with 667 yards and three touchdowns on 51 catches in 14 contests.
The loss saps Stroud of a field-stretching weapon alongside Nico Collins. With Dell out, Robert Woods should see an increased role along with Xavier Hutchinson. When he returns from a shoulder injury, John Metchie should also see more opportunities. Diontae Johnson, who was claimed Monday off waivers from the Ravens, could help when he is acclimated to Houston's system.
"My message to our guys is it's about just having laser focus," Ryans said. "There are a lot of things that can pull our attention in many different directions -- physically, emotionally, everything that's going on right now, short week, Christmas. There are a lot of things that can pull our energy, but right now, we have to be laser-focused on Baltimore."