HOUSTON -- After wideout Tank Dell's second consecutive practice, he said he "wants to be better than where he left off" for the Houston Texans.
There's no timetable of when Dell will play in the regular season. He was asked if he would be ready for Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and said, "I'm taking it one day at a time."
Friday was Dell's second practice of training camp, and even though he participated only in a limited capacity, it's another step in his recovery process.
Dell missed all of 2025 after he suffered multiple torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap in the Texans' Week 16 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024. The injury happened on a touchdown catch from Stroud when wideout Jared Wayne collided with his knee.
He has no fear about the strength of his knee, saying Houston's doctor has deemed his knee is "100% stable."
"Trusting the work you put in prior to going out there," Dell said. "Going out there to put your foot in the ground, trusting the process with the training staff and what they had set out for me. So, when I got out here, I wasn't scared."
Dell said the hardest part of the comeback was the mental aspect as he hadn't practiced with the team since December 2024. But Dell added that he put all his trust and his faith in God, stating, "His plans can't be denied."
"The mental aspect of it is the hardest thing you try to get over," Dell said. "So, if I went out there feeling iffy about what I'm doing, I probably would never be able to come back to where I want to be. So I was just out there trusting it, putting my foot in the ground, trying to be explosive."
One thing Dell has working in his favor is how the organization completely committed to helping him recover and how the team has afforded him patience during this process.
Coach DeMeco Ryans said after practice that the Texans are excited to see Dell complete this triumph story as he hasn't played in a football game in 594 days.
"Everybody understands his type of personality, his joy and love for football," Ryans said. "You want to see that comeback story come to life. And we're excited to see whenever that happens; we're all going to be very joyful for him."
