Texans WR Tank Dell hospitalized after severe knee injury on TD catch vs. Chiefs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center and the team said he would remain overnight after sustaining a severe left knee injury while making a 30-yard touchdown catch in a 27-19 loss to the Chiefs on Saturday.

Dell was coming across the back of the end zone and made a spectacular catch on a pass from C.J. Stroud before colliding with Houston teammate Jared Wayne on the way to the ground. Dell immediately grabbed at his knee and Wayne signaled for team trainers, who spent several minutes working on the wide receiver while teammates waited anxiously.

Dell was eventually placed on a stretcher and driven in a covered medical cart off the field, and then he was taken to the hospital.

“We'll get an update (Monday) on him,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “All of our thoughts and prayers are with Tank right now. You see what he means to our entire team. It hurts to see him go down like that. He was having a fantastic game.”

Dell had six catches for 98 yards and the touchdown when he was hurt with 11:40 left in the third quarter.

Stroud, who is one of Dell's closest friends, was visibly shaken. He had tears in his eyes as he watched Dell get loaded onto the cart, and Stroud was still getting consoled by teammates when he walked back to the Houston sideline.

“It's not easy to just let it go, especially (because) that's my best friend. It's not easy to move on and keep playing,” Stroud said. “I tried to do the best I could. My teammates helped me up. I appreciate the guys talking to me as I was going through it.”

The touchdown should have tied the game, but Ka'imi Fairbairn missed the ensuing extra point. The Chiefs took advantage of the momentum swing and marched 80 yards for a touchdown and a 24-16 lead, and they put away the game from there.

“You see your brother go down and get hurt that way, it’s hard to bounce back,” Ryans said. “You see him and how distraught he was, it’s hard to bounce back. It’s hard to rebound, because we care about each other. It’s not just about getting back to football. We truly care about each other, and in that moment, the most important thing was making sure that Tank was OK.”

It's the second straight year Dell has sustained what is certain to be a season-ending injury. He fractured his fibula in Week 13 against the Broncos last season, just as the rookie was breaking out, and had surgery on it the following day.

Then in April, the 25-year-old wide receiver was an innocent bystander at a private event in Sanford, Florida, when he sustained a minor gunshot wound. Dell spent a brief amount of time in the hospital but was able to return to Houston soon afterward.

“He loves this game so much. I don’t think that’s much of a question,” Texans receiver Xavier Hutchinson said. “He’s going to fight back. He’s going to come back even stronger, like he did this year. It’s only a matter of time.”

Dell was the second Texans player carted off Saturday. Free safety Jimmie Ward hurt his foot late in the first half.

Earlier in the game, the Texans' banged-up offensive line lost starting guard Shaq Mason to a knee injury on the fourth play, and backup lineman Blake Fisher had to be helped off with an undisclosed injury later in the first half. Their injuries came after Juice Scruggs, another starter on the offensive line, was declared inactive because of a foot injury.

Kansas City also sustained some significant injuries on a chilly, wind-swept Saturday.

The biggest was to defensive tackle Chris Jones, who was unable to finish after straining a calf. Chiefs coach Andy Reid would not say whether he thought the two-time All-Pro would be able to play against Pittsburgh on Christmas Day.

Chiefs right tackle Jawaan Taylor did not return after straining his knee, while backup linebacker Jack Cochrane is likely done for the season after he fractured his ankle while blocking on a special teams early in the game.

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Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell, grabs his knee while being checked on by teammate Jared Wayne after catching a touchdown pass during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (3) catches a touchdown pass as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Dell was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is checked on by teammate Jared Wayne, right, after catching a touchdown pass and being injured during the second half of an NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell (3) catches a touchdown pass as Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie, left, defends during the second half of an NFL football game Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. Dell was injured on the play. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)