Texans starting safety Andre Hal has been diagnosed with cancer. 

The team announced on Friday that Hal is battling Hodgkin's lymphoma and is currently looking at his treatment options. The 26-year-old was given a preliminary diagnosis by a team physician. After that, he was taken to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he's currently undergoing testing and evaluation. 

"My faith in God and the support from my family, friends, teammates and coaches will see me through this difficult time," Hal said in a statement. "I will not let this diagnosis stop me from fulfilling my dreams and I do not want anyone to feel sorry for me. I know how to beat this and I will beat it."

Hal was part of coach Bill O'Brien's first draft class in Houston back in 2014, when the Texans selected him in the seventh round. Since then, the safety has slowly worked his way into the starting lineup. 

During his rookie year in 2014, Hal played in 14 games with zero starts. Hal then started 11 games during both the 2015 and 2016 seasons, which led the Texans to reward him in August 2017 with a three-year, $15 million extension. Last season, Hal started in all 16 games for Houston. 

"The news of Andre Hal's diagnosis weighs heavy on the hearts of everyone in the Houston Texans family," O'Brien said in a statement. "Andre epitomizes what it means to be a Houston Texan through his leadership, community involvement and team-first attitude. We are confident that Andre's resiliency and infectious positivity, along with treatment and care from the best medical community in the world, will guide him through his recovery."

Dozens of Texans players took to twitter on Friday to show support for Hal, including J.J. Watt and offensive lineman Kyle Fuller. 

One teammate who Hal might be able to really rely on is David Quessenbury. After being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014, Quessenbury was eventually able to return to football in 2017. Quessenbury finally made his NFL debut last season by playing in the Texans' final two games.