The Houston Texans have already made their final call on Tank Dell for Week 6. Dell has not played in a game since the 2024 season. He is apparently still not quite ready to return, despite logging full practices over the first two days in Week 6.
He is not the only one the Texans will not have against the Jacksonville Jaguars, either.
The Texans also ruled out running back David Montgomery and safety Jalen Pitre, all of which emerged before the final injur report of the week.
“#Texans WR Tank Dell (knee), RB David Montgomery (groin) and S Jalen Pitre (shoulder) will not travel with the team to London and have been ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars,” Houston Texans PR announced in a post on X on October 15.
The decision on Dell comes as at least a mild surprise.
Texans Rule Out Tank Dell for Jaguars Game
“Texans WR Tank Dell practiced fully for the 2nd straight day, seemingly nearing his return to the lineup,” ESPN 97.5’s Jacob Barzilla posted in reaction to the initial injury report, also noting the returns of Azeez Al-Shaair and Trent Brown to practice and that Henry To’oTo’o practiced again.
Barzilla was not alone in expressing optimism about the direction that Dell appeared to be trending in this week.
However, the reality of the announcement is fairly straightforward.
Dell drew attention earlier in the day, sharing a pair of what one X user called “cryptic” posts on Instagram. In one, the fourth-year wide receiver included appeared to refer to himself as a “1%er.”
That was the caption on an image of “The Simpsons” character Bart Simpson writing on a chalkboard “You went through hell and still showed up like nothing happened.”
The other image was simply of the words, “It was all about da journey” with a black heart emoji.
Texans Down Two Starters in Week 6
Montgomery and Pitre’s absences were both to be expected. Montgomery is dealing with a groin injury, while Pitre navigates a shoulder issue. Head coach DeMeco Ryans noted this week that he expected them to miss some time.
Montgomery’s absence could prove to be the jumpstart the Texans needed.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did not mince words about how ineffective the former Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions RB has been for the Texans to start this season.
“Montgomery has averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and posted a league-worst 23.1% success rate,” Barnwell wrote on October 15. “You can help compensate for those issues with explosive runs, but Montgomery has just one gain of 10-plus yards across 52 carries this season.”
Barnwell suggested the Texans lean on Woody Marks, noting this injury could force the issue.
“The Texans have been hesitant to turn the lead role over to Marks, but Montgomery’s struggles and the groin injury might leave them no choice,” Barnwell wrote.
Rumors have already surfaced about the Texans taking that approach. So the shift was a possibility even without the injury. The Texans rushing offense ranks 31st overall, which would be their lowest mark of the DeMeco Ryans era by nine slots.
Texans Announce Tank Dell Decision Amid Critical News for Jaguars Game