“[The Texans] should have a full-speed Tank Dell next season [2027], too, hopefully sooner, although he’s nowhere near ready to play,” McClain said in a tweet on Monday this week. This comes on the heels of Dell not even appearing at practices for the last week-plus.

McClain, who has covered the NFL for 50 years in Houston, went on to lament the loss of Dell since his two seasons in which he totaled over 90 catches and topped 1,300 yards combined in 25 games.

The surprising news comes as a blow to both fans and fantasy managers banking on Dell’s return from a devastating 2024 injury in which he dislocated his knee, tore his ACL, LCL, and MCL, and damaged his meniscus. It was a gruesome injury many thought no one could come back from. After seemingly defying the odds, fans will have to wait. It sounds as though he’ll miss significant time in 2026… if he plays at all.

Houston recently traded for Kayshon Boutte after a season-ending loss of Jayden Higgins (ACL). If Dell doesn’t return, they’ll either shop again or look to Jaylin Noel and Xavier Hutchinson to pick up the slack. Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz get a fantasy uptick as the most reliable pass-catchers.