Week 17 Houston Texans Injury Report: Latest on Tank Dell, Jimmie Ward and more for Christmas showdown
This year, the NFL will keep on propagating the festive mood with a couple of scheduled games, including the Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens game at NRG Stadium.
Although both teams have secured their spots in the forthcoming postseason, they still have top prizes left to fight for in the regular season. The Texans might advance in the fight for a better AFC seeding with a victory tomorrow, while Baltimore and the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to fight for the AFC North title.
Below, we'll examine the Texans' injury report as they try to avoid suffering two consecutive defeats.
Texans injury report for Christmas Day
Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell suffered a terrible injury during their game against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 16, but the team is dealing with other issues ahead of their matchup with the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.
The team is likely to be without important players on both the offensive and defensive ends on Christmas Day, which is a terrible blow given that they will be facing a strong opponent.
Houston was without offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (foot), defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi (ankle) and offensive guard Shaq Mason (knee) for Monday's practice. Additionally, defensive lineman Denico Autry (knee) and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (hand) participated in practice only in limited capacities.
Tank Dell injury update
After suffering a serious knee injury during Saturday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, wide receiver Tank Dell was taken away from the field on a stretcher and taken away in a covered medical cart. After that, he was taken to the hospital.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport has since reported that the 25-year-old wide receiver is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with a dislocated knee cap.
It is expected that Dell will have surgery, miss the rest of this season and attempt to return for the next campaign.
Jimmie Ward's injury update
Houston Texans defensive back Jimmie Ward also exited last weekend's game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to a foot ailment. Head coach DeMeco Ryans revealed on Monday that he will miss the remainder of the season due to the injury.
Losing Ward, who has made 10 appearances for Houston this season and has been a valuable experienced influence on their defense, would be difficult as the team gets ready for a postseason run.