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Is Tank Dell out for the season? Read the latest Tank Dell fantasy football outlook and injury update for 2025. Zach Thompson breaks down whether Dell should be drafted.
Every year, injuries play a critical role in defining fantasy football seasons. Given the physical nature of the game, a player can go down with a season-changing injury at any time, and unfortunately, that has happened to Tank Dell throughout his NFL career.
Every manager attacks injuries a little differently. One strategy is to just avoid all players who are hurt coming into the year, but there is also some potential value available since the uncertainty usually dramatically discounts the player's price. In Dell's case, he has also earned a little bit of the label of "injury prone," which can scare off owners coming into the year.
When healthy, Dell has proved he can be an impact performer, but will he play this season? Let's take a look at Dell's outlook coming into the year.
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Is Tank Dell Out for the 2025 Season?
The short but sad answer is ... probably.
Dell is a dynamic talent, but he will likely miss most or all of the season. He will have value if he gets back on the field this year, but that may not happen until next season.
Dell was a third-round pick of the Texans in 2023 out of Houston. He had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in his rookie season, but in Week 13, he was carted off after getting rolled up in a pile on a goal-line touchdown run by Dameon Pierce. Dell suffered a fractured fibula on that play and was placed on IR, ending his rookie season.
Last year, he returned in time for OTAs and served as the team's third receiver behind Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. He filled a larger role while Collins was out, but he battled multiple injuries of his own as well. Diggs tore his ACL, and Dell stepped up as the team's top option with six catches for 126 yards against the Jets.
Dell had up-and-down performances in the next few weeks, but in Week 16, he suffered a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs. Dell caught the pass on which he was injured and finished with six catches for 98 yards. The awful timing of the injury was that it came just as he was shaking off minor injuries from throughout the season.
The injury to his knee was absolutely devastating. The damage included a dislocated knee along with a torn ACL, MCL, and LCL in addition to meniscus damage. Dell's devastating injury so late in the season forced the team to add extra depth to the receiving room, signing Christian Kirk and adding two receivers in the NFL Draft.
The latest status update on Dell's recovery was from a while ago. NBC Houston’s Aaron Wilson reported that he would "more than likely miss the 2025 season and be placed on the physically unable to perform list." Head coach DeMeco Ryans said this at the start of training camp in July:
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on Tank Dell
“He’s doing great. He’s crushing rehab. He’s in a great headspace. We’re not putting any timetables timeline on Tank.” pic.twitter.com/MlFyBBVdIq
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelV) July 23, 2025
Even though there is no timetable for his return, the team did place him on the PUP list, meaning he's ineligible for the first four weeks of the season. That timeline doesn't have any bearing on his return, though, since he's still so far away.
Tank Dell 2025 Fantasy Football Outlook
At this point, there's really no need to draft Dell. It seems most likely that he misses the entire season. Toward the very end of the year, he will be a year removed from the injury and could be back for a game or two. However, it will be so late in the season that his potential production is so limited, and he isn't worth holding in any format.
Even when he does return, there will be lots of work to get back up to speed. The offseason after the 2025 season seems like a natural time for him to do that work, putting him on track for a regular ramp-up with OTAs, training camp, preseason, and the 2026 season.
I love the dynamic threat Dell can bring, and hopefully, in 2026, we'll be talking about how his recovery has him as a sleeper to return and post huge numbers.
If we start hearing rumblings that a return is likely, you can grab and stash him at that point, but coming into the year, there are more profitable ways to use your IR spots and roster slots with so many weeks to navigate before Dell might be able to give you anything.
Who Should I Draft Tool
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