Tank Dell Takes Pay Cut, Restructures Texans Contract While Opening 2026 on Injured Reserve

Tank Dell agreed Friday to restructure his contract with the Houston Texans, taking a significant pay cut as he opens the 2026 season on injured reserve. The wide receiver’s salary drops from a scheduled $3.624 million down to just over $1.7 million, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston, with Spotrac reporting the new one-year deal includes $1 million guaranteed and a $500,000 signing bonus.

The restructure comes as Dell enters the final year of his rookie contract still working his way back from one of the more gruesome injuries of the 2024 season. He has not played in a regular-season game since Week 16 of that year, when he tore his ACL, MCL and LCL and dislocated his kneecap during a touchdown celebration collision against the Kansas City Chiefs. The injury required multiple surgeries, including ACL reconstruction, and cost him the entire 2025 season on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.

What the Restructured Deal Means for Dell and Houston

Per Spotrac’s Michael Ginnitti, the reworked contract saves the Texans $1.979 million in cap and cash room for 2026, dropping Dell’s cap figure from $3.967 million to $1.988 million. His base salary now sits at $1.145 million. Rather than risk being released outright, Dell agreed to take less money now in exchange for a roster spot and a chance to prove his knee has fully healed before hitting free agency next offseason.

Houston placed Dell on injured reserve with a designation to return during roster cuts, meaning he is required to miss at least the first four games of the season and cannot be activated before Week 5, at the earliest against the Titans on October 11. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has repeatedly said Dell is on his own recovery timeline, telling reporters the plan is “whatever that entails, geared toward what’s best for Tank Dell.” Dell has described his knee as “100 percent stable” and has progressed to full-team drills in recent weeks, but the Texans are not rushing a player who hasn’t taken a live NFL snap in over 600 days.

Before the injury, Dell had flashed real big-play ability. Across his first two NFL seasons, the 2023 third-round pick posted 98 receptions for 1,376 yards and 10 touchdowns over 25 games, including a rookie campaign that saw him rack up 709 yards and seven scores in just 11 outings before a broken leg ended that season early too. He’s now 26 and needs a healthy, productive return to cash in on a second contract.

How the Move Ripples Through the Texans’ Passing Game and Market

Dell’s continued absence, paired with rookie Jayden Higgins also opening the year on injured reserve following his own ACL injury, leaves Houston notably thin at wide receiver behind Nico Collins to start the season. That depth question has already shown up in the futures market. Collins enters as Houston’s unquestioned No. 1 target, and his receiving yardage prop is set at 1,074.5 for the season, with the over favored at odds around -110 after he’s posted back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns (1,006 yards in 2024, 1,117 last year). His touchdown prop is drawing even heavier attention, with the over on 6.5 receiving touchdowns sitting near even money and pulling roughly 97% of bets and 84% of handle in early market activity, a clear signal that bettors expect Collins to absorb an even larger share of targets with Dell and Higgins unavailable.

The Texans remain favorites to win the AFC South at plus-money odds, with their season win total set at 9.5, and sportsbooks continue to view Houston as the top team in the division even without full health at receiver. Still, the thinning depth chart behind Collins, with Xavier Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel and Kayshon Boutte now needed to soak up early-season snaps, is exactly the kind of situational detail that can tug at team totals and passing-game props on a week-to-week basis until Dell and Higgins return. If Dell does come back healthy around Week 5 as designated, expect him to reenter conversations for weekly receiving props and flex-caliber roles, but until then Houston’s passing math runs almost entirely through Collins.