How Texans’ Dylan Horton survived lymphoma, became an inspiration for others impacted by blood cancer: ‘It’s a blessing’

HOUSTON – Dylan Horton knew something was wrong. His stamina and energy, despite all of his efforts, just weren’t at their usual gold standard.

And his big frame, built just right for football at 6-foot-4, 257 pounds, was rapidly dropping weight after practice sessions with a range of 10 to 14 pounds despite following a diet designed for him by a nutritionist to maintain size and strength.

The Texans defensive end and former fourth-round draft pick from TCU was also experiencing night sweats.

“I was losing weight throughout camp, a lot of weight, as an athlete who wants to make sure I’m keeping that up, and it was a lot more than usual,” Horton told KPRC 2. “It was clear that it was something we should keep an eye on.”

In consultation with Texans medical officials, including head athletic trainer Roland Ramirez and team doctor James Muntz, Horton went through a battery of tests. The bloodwork showed a lot of inflammation and scans ultimately revealed a diagnosis of Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Horton was in for the fight of his life. He leaned heavily on his faith and his family, especially his parents.

“Once we saw it was lymphoma, we addressed it and made a plan,” Horton said. “I couldn’t do this alone, at all. I have so many people to thank for my health.”

On Nov. 22, 2023, Horton was placed on the non-football illness list. He was officially diagnosed in December. With the help of doctors at MD Anderson Cancer Center, he entered remission in March 2024 and completed radiation therapy in May. He got to ring the bell at MD Anderson, a moment of triumph signifying he had won his battle with lymphoma. He still has scheduled medical maintenance and retesting to make sure the lymphoma doesn’t return.

“Houston has a great cancer facility,” Horton said. “Ringing the bell was a beautiful feeling, knowing everything happened so quickly. It was the end of a chapter, but not the end of the journey. It was a great feeling.”

Like former Texans offensive lineman David Quessenberry and former safety Andre Hal, Horton survived lymphoma and returned to play again. Wide receiver John Metchie III returned to play after missing his entire rookie season with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Now, Horton and retired NFL player Alex Okafor are setting an example for others as the hosts of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionaries of the Year Grand Finale Gala at The Revaire on Saturday.

They’ll lead a celebration with roughly 600 people invited and marking the conclusion of LLS’s philanthropic competition to honor local high school students who worked tirelessly to raise funds for those impacted by blood cancer.

“Man, it’s a great feeling,” Horton said. “It’s a blessing for them to reach out and want me to be a part of what they’re doing. Alex introduced me to LLS and helped me get involved. They have a great, great thing going on helping the community and supporting blood cancer patients. It’s pretty cool.

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Texans’ Dylan Horton, in remission from Stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has final treatment, celebrates by ringing bell

“Everybody knows someone who has been affected or knows somebody who deals with this situation. It’s a great opportunity for me to be a part of something like this to affect change.”

At the event, first-grade student and pediatric leukemia survivor Evan Pesek and his family will be in attendance to celebrate his survivor’s journey.

Okafor, who lost his mother, Sonia to acute myeloid leukemia in 2020, months after he won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs, will join Horton in recognizing Pesek. Okafor, a former University of Texas standout, joined LLS as a member of its National Board of Directors in July last year.

Student Visionaries of the Year has helped LLS invest more than $1.8 billion in cutting-edge research worldwide, fueling nearly every critical advancement in blood cancer treatment that spans the most promising cancer research. For more than 75 years, LLS has been making measurable progress across each of its mission focus areas of research, patient support, and advocacy.

“I’m excited to meet Evan,” Horton said. “That’s going to be really cool. I’m happy to be a part of it all.”

Horton was also named the Texans’ Ed Block Courage award winner in balloting from his teammates. The award is one of the most prestigious honors in the NFL as it signifies individuals from the 32 teams that have overcome adversity on or off the field. He’ll attend the annual banquet in Baltimore on March 8.

“It’s all to the glory of God, He gave me the strength to be in a situation like this and to get through it,” Horton said. “To have this opportunity to praise Him and have people support me and talk about my cancer treatment, that’s what got me through it. Without the people who supported me, I wouldn’t be able to do it. After LLS reached out and I figured out what they were doing in their mission and how they support blood cancer patients, I wanted to be a part of it in any way possible. These students went the extra mile.

“I plan to tell them about my story. Every cancer experience is different. Having the support and the people around me to encourage me when I was tired or low in energy to keep going, that goes a long way.”

Horton, 24, was activated from the non-football illness list in October. He played in 13 regular-season games for the defending AFC South champions, recording a career-high 16 tackles with one for a loss and two quarterback hits.

“As a competitor, you always want to push to do better,” Horton said. “I’m really proud of myself and my family and how far we’ve come from the treatments to where I was able to play this past season. It’s a blessing. Football is a hard game with a lot of talented, skillful people. To be on the field and be a part of a great team, it’s a great feeling. As a team, we want to show we can be better and we will be better as a team.

“Every opportunity we get to be on the field and to reach our goals, we want to show what we’re about. Individually, I want to support the team in any way possible and do anything that is asked of me and be in the position to execute for the team and help us win.”

Last season, Horton wore blue-and-red cleats emblazoned with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society emblem. In 23 career games, Horton has recorded 23 tackles, four quarterback hits, two tackle for losses and one fumble recovery.

“It’s a special feeling,” Horton told KPRC 2. “Nominated by my teammates, the people who have been around me going through what I’m going through, I’m blessed to be in this position. I’m blessed to have the support that I do from my teammates, my family, having my faith was the pillar of this whole journey that I’ve been on and having moral support the whole time. Having faith you can get through this situation, that’s the thing I relied on and my family.”

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans and several teammates said they were inspired by Horton’s positive attitude, never giving in to despair while he was in the fight of his life. He leaned heavily on his faith during that trying time and his family.

Stacey Horton and Ron Horton couldn’t stop smiling before kickoff at Horton’s first game back against the Buffalo Bills in October. The parents were busting with pride after driving to Houston from Frisco to watch their son complete his inspirational victory over something much more daunting than any football opponent.

“Oh my God, first of all, we want to give all glory and honor to our lord and savior, Jesus Christ and we just want to thank him for this amazing opportunity,” Stacey Horton told KPRC 2. “We’re so proud of Dylan, the fight he has shown, his determination. We are absolutely thrilled for him.”

Horton celebrated his return by chasing after Bills star quarterback Josh Allen during a 23-20 win at NRG Stadium. He played 15 snaps, 21 percent of the defensive playing time and recorded one tackle. His presence on the field one year after his rookie season ended prematurely when he was place on the non-football illness list was a win itself.

Despite his circumstances, Horton didn’t give into self-pity. He maintained his positive attitude.

“I feel like it’s easy to reciprocate coming up the facility where everybody is positive,” Horton said. “It’s easy to reciprocate that energy and it’s always easy to spread positivity when it’s around you. I had my family, my friends around while I was going through everything. Especially coming to the facility, just having that routine, having those people around me who believed in me and just loving me.”

And to have his parents watching his moment of triumph was special for Horton.

When Ryans highlighted plays from the Texans’ win over the Bills, he made it a point to emphasize Horton’s contributions during a team meeting.

“Exciting to see Dylan, he stepped in, he set the edge really well,” Ryans said. “He got after the quarterback. Dylan did a really nice job. I keep saying an awesome story, but he is an awesome young man and he is a pleasure to work with, pleasure to be around, such a great spirit.

“It is so encouraging and motivating to see him go out, missing as much time as he did, but he was still able to come in and affect the game. He made a really nice play where he set the edge, got off a block and made a physical tackle on the running backs. It was one of the first plays I showed the team and everybody just clapping for him, excited for Dylan.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.