Houston Texans owner Cal McNair gave a positive update surrounding receiver Tank Dell after he was wounded in a shooting at a Florida bar last month.
McNair told reporters before the start of the Texans’ annual golf charity golf tournament that Dell would make a “full recovery” after suffering a flesh wound in his leg.
Dell, Houston’s third-round pick out of the University of Houston in 2023, was one of 10 victims caught in the middle of the crossfire during the shooting in Sanford, Fla.
“It’s frightening,” McNair said. “You just try not to get into those situations, and sometimes it happens. We’re just grateful that I think no one was seriously hurt.
“I saw [Dell] in the office the other and he looked good, in good spirits.”
#Texans Cal McNair and Hannah McNair on Tank Dell recovery after suffering gunshot wound as innocent bystander in Florida mass shooting called situation 'frightening' they're relieved he's going to be fine @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/Fp4jXQAotA
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) May 6, 2024
Dell, one of Houston’s breakout stars en route to an AFC South division title, was visiting family in Daytona Beach earlier in the week before the shooting. While attending a private event, a fight broke out, eventually leading a gunman to begin firing shots into the crowd, striking Dell among others.
Since the shooting, two people have been arrested, including a 16-year-old suspect. None of the injuries sustained in the shooting were life-threatening. Dell received immediate medical attention and was released from the hospital Sunday morning.
Dell broke his silence on the event last week, posting a photo to his Instagram in the Texans’ new Battle Red uniforms with the caption: ‘God I thank you’ along with a praying hands emoji.
“He’ll have to rehab and get back to where he was,” McNair said.
As the Texans’ No. 2 target, Dell hauled in 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games. He was on pace to break Andre Johnson’s team rookie receiving record entering December, but suffered a season-ending broken fibula against the Broncos that required surgery.
Since then, Dell’s been rehabbing in Houston and seemed to be back on track to practice before the shooting. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said that he’s spoken to Dell several times since the shooting and that they had a “good conversation.”
#Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on latest regarding Tank Dell, along with follow up from @jonmalexander on whether Tank will miss any time pic.twitter.com/N3jVI5JhyH
— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) May 6, 2024
“Tank will be fine,” Ryans said.
When pressed further on Dell’s status for the start of OTAs next month, Ryans declined to comment.
“I’ve answered all that about Tank — he’ll be all right,” Ryans said.
When asked further about the incident, both Ryans and the McNairs elected to keep the details private.
“That’s kind of between us and Tank,” Texans foundation vice president Hannah McNair said. “That’s a hard situation to be in. I think that’s something we’ll talk about privately. In any situation in life, you’re going to learn something from it.”
