The Houston Texans become the first NFL team of 2024 to have all their players reporting for training camp on Wednesday, and wide receiver Tank Dell is ready to go.
When Dell got shot in the leg this offseason, he immediately wondered if that would be the case.
“When it first happened, when I was in the hospital that’s the only thing I was asking: Am I going to be all right to play football?” Dell said during the Texans’ offseason program. “That was my main thing. Will I be OK to run and play football like I been doing?
“Once they told me it was like a through-and-through and once they told me that you’ll be good, I was good.”
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In the early hours of April 29, 10 people were shot at an event billed as a “Nobody Leaves Sober” pool party in Sanford, Florida, including Dell. None of the victims sustained life-threatening injuries, with KPRC-TV in Houston reporting a bullet entered the back of one of Dell’s legs and passed through.
“It definitely changed my perspective of things, like hanging around – just not even hanging around, but just being around the right group of guys and stuff like that or being in the right situation,” Dell said. “But just wrong place, wrong time. Just got to live with it. God blessed me to get out of that situation healthy. I was only down for like a week. But after that, I got right back to work and feeling good. …
“It’s definitely scary, not only for myself but for my family because I don’t want to put myself in that type of position, and especially like my family – I got a little brother, my mom. I know how they was feeling at that time. It’s just a blessing that I’m safe. It’s a traumatic experience.”
Dell said he had leaned on Houston receiver John Metchie III. The former Alabama standout missed his rookie season after being diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemiashortly before training camp. Metchie played in 16 regular-season and two playoff games last season.
“Metchie, that’s my guy,” Dell said. “Me and Metchie close. Me, Metchie and (quarterback) C.J. (Stroud), for sure, we always have deep talks, like we’re always with each other we always have deep talks. Just like what he went through, he’s showing me, like, life is bigger than ball, but this is what we want to do, for sure.
“When he had his experience with the cancer and things like that, he was telling me that it opened his eyes way more, and then when I just had that experience, it opened my eyes. If I want to go where I want to go, I got to cut things out of my life so I can achieve what I want to do. Me and him have big talks.
“But, man, Metchie, he’s been doing great. I know you guys been watching, but he’s been putting a lot of work in. He’s ready to rock, he’s ready to roll, man. He’s smiling every day.”
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Dell said he has a lot of people looking out for him now.
“Overall, I’m good,” Dell said. “I go to church every Tuesday. I pray every night, pray every morning. I know I got God on my side, and that’s the most powerful thing to have. I got God on my side, so I keep him first in everything I do. I feel good. I got the right group of guys around me, keeping my head up. My mom, my pops, people back home like my grandmother, everybody praying for me, calling me, checking in every day now. Like they just call. My grandma texts me every day now. It’s crazy. But it’s good. My mental’s right, and I’m just ready to get back to work.”
Dell started his college career by catching 12 passes for 364 yards – an average of 30.3 yards per reception -- and three touchdowns in four games for Alabama A&M in 2018. After a season at Independence Community College, Dell played three seasons at the University of Houston before joining the Texans in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
As a rookie, Dell had 47 receptions for 709 yards and seven touchdowns when he sustained a broken leg in the 11th game of the season.
“I know it’s going to be better, for sure, but I don’t know how much better,” Dell told KPRC-TV about his second season on Monday. “I’m hoping it’s 100 times better, but -- I feel like I’m way better just from a football standpoint knowing the playbook, coming in knowing how camp go and the NFL and stuff like that, so I feel like I’m going to be ready for camp, knowing how to take care of my body day-in and day-out before practice, after practice, so I feel like I’m going to be way better.”
After winning 11 games in the previous three seasons combined, the Texans went 10-7, won the AFC South and posted a playoff victory in 2023.
“We all know where we want to be,” Dell said. “We all know the end goal – Super Bowl – so that’s all we’re working towards.”
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.