Texans WR Tank Dell opens up about mental aspect of his rehab process

Returning from an injury is always emotional, especially one as severe as Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered back in December of 2024.

Dell tore his ACL, MCL and LCL, along with dislocating his kneecap and suffering significant meniscus damage, which required multiple surgeries and forced him to miss the entire 2025 season while rehabbing. For 18 months, fans pondered if the forrmer third-round pick would ever return to full form.

Fast-forward to Wednesday and Dell was back in training camp. While he is not working out in full capacity, his participation in camp is a positive sign for his availability for the 2026 season and beyond.

Tank Dell on his return so far, via @AaronWilson_NFL:

“It’s nothing short of a blessing, it’s great.”

“Mentally, it’s about trusting the work you put in to put your foot in the ground. When I got out here, I wasn’t scared.”pic.twitter.com/UHrTQh2mpC

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) August 7, 2026

As much as the physical recovery was challenging, Dell mentioned the internal struggle as a focal issue, too.

“I’ll say mentally, it’s just about trusting that the work you put in prior to going out there to do those things,” Dell said. “Prior to 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 that when I got out here I wasn’t scared and I was talking to my doctor and I was just asking him questions and he was just telling me to let loose, trust it and be you because it’s 100% stable. When he told me that, I just came out and was putting my foot in the ground. I didn’t care about it, I tried not to think about it, because during your process the mental aspect of it is the hardest thing you have to get over. If I went out there iffy about what I’m doing, then I probably would never be able to come back to what I want to be. I was just out there, just trusting it, putting my foot in the ground, trying to be explosive and it’s working in my favor.”

The Texans’ regular season starts on Sept. 13 against the Buffalo Bills.

Tank Dell on his relationship with Jared Wayne:

“I told him like ‘ease up yo. It’s football.’ I know it was a genuine mistake. I told him ‘it’s good, God got me, ease up, go have fun, play football, I’ll be back.’ It was cool, it’s no hard feelings, that’s my brother so we… pic.twitter.com/IkRxHGYSwi

— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) August 8, 2026

It is unknown if Dell will be available for this game. But whenever he returns to the field, it will be emotional for him as well as the rest of the team.

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans WR Tank Dell opens up about mental aspect of his rehab process