Texans wide receiver Tank Dell’s season appears to be over.
Dell left Sunday’s 22-17 win over the Broncos in the first quarter after he got tangled up during Dameon Pierce’s touchdown run.
The injury will cost Dell the rest of the 2023 campaign due to what is being called a fractured fibula, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN.
The wide receiver had been blocking for Pierce on the short TD run when Dell’s legs got caught in the group of Broncos’ defenders and he fell to the ground with 3:53 left in the first quarter.
He was down on the ground for several minutes while being attended to and had to be carted off the field.
His Texans teammates gathered around him as he was being looked at and even Denver players took a knee.
The Texans ruled him out for the rest of the game by halftime.
The injury to Dell is a tough blow for the Texans and their breakout star receiver.
Dell had become one of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s top targets this season and his seven touchdown receptions were the most of any Houston receiver this year entering Sunday’s game.
Dell had recorded 47 catches for 709 yards – second-most receiving yards on the team only to Nico Collins – and the Texans remain in the thick of the AFC playoff picture after the win over Denver.
The rookie receiver had just recently recorded a career-best game against the Arizona Cardinals during Week 11.
Dell had a career-high eight catches for 149 yards and a touchdown in that contest.
Dell had been taken by the Texans in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of the University of Houston.
With Dell out, the pressure will fall on Collins, Noah Brown and Robert Woods to pick up the slack left by Dell’s absence the rest of the season.