The Texans have been “impressed” with RB Devin Singletary this offseason, per insider Aaron Wilson. The former Buffalo Bill signed a 1-year deal (with $2.5 million guaranteed) in March. “Devin has done a good job,” HC DeMeco Ryans said. “Devin has put himself in a really good spot – love the attention to detail, how he prepares each and every day, so I’m excited where Devin is.” Singletary ultimately projects as a complementary piece behind Dameon Pierce. Given Houston’s new coaching staff, though, we’ll keep a close eye on first-team reps at training camp. See where both guys landed in our updated RB rankings.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce has improved his pass protection ability this offseason, according to RBs coach Danny Barrett. "He can now see the big picture and can identify things quicker to get to his pickups," Barrett said. "That's going to help us out tremendously. When he is in the game, teams think we are going to just run the football. But his ability to pass protect, he understands what is needed in our passing game from him." QB C.J. Stroud has also been impressed by Pierce's pass pro skills, Sports Illustrated's Coty M. Davis writes. As a rookie last year, Pierce ranked 73rd among 81 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus' pass-blocking grades, allowing a pressure on 21.3% of opportunities. That was part of the reason he averaged a just-ok 3.0 targets and 2.3 catches per game. It sounds like Pierce is a candidate to take on a bigger role in the passing game this year, although he'll need to fend off free-agent addition Devin Singletary. We'll be keeping a close eye on Houston's backfield all summer.
The Texans and RB Devin Singletary have agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to a reported $3.75 million. The former Bill will immediately walk into a backfield previously devoid of depth behind the incumbent RB Dameon Pierce. From a fantasy perspective, the biggest fallout here is how Singletary's mere presence alone cuts into Pierce's value. In fairness, the Texans adding depth RBs behind Pierce was almost inevitable. This issue was a glaring team need that the Texans had to address this off-season. Even so, Singletary has exceeded 200+ touches in each of the last two seasons and logged three-consecutive years of 50+ targets as a pass-catcher. He's not elite, though he isn't some nobody name either. This spells bad news for Pierce, a player who finished 2022 as the RB27 in PPR scoring on the heels of 250 touches through 13 games prior to a season-ending ankle injury. Simply put, Pierce's effectiveness as a fantasy asset was heavily tied to his high volume, and now, that's not looking likely to work in his favor in 2023. Assuming the Texans don't add anyone else into the fold, a potential backfield split on a lower-tier NFL offense likely means both Pierce and Singletary will cannibalize each other into RB3/flex range at best. That said, it's still too early, and unfair, to believe this will be a 50-50 split. Keep an eye on the NFL Draft next month in case the Texans make this busy RB room even busier.
The Texans are expected to hire Bobby Slowik as their new OC, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. Slowik will become the latest Kyle Shanahan disciple to take over an offense. The 35-year-old has spent the past 6 seasons under Shanahan in San Francisco, actually starting out as a defensive quality control coach before moving to the offensive side of the ball in 2019. He served as an offensive assistant for 2 seasons before being promoted to passing game specialist in 2021 and then passing game coordinator last year. Slowik also worked under HC Mike Shanahan in Washington from 2011 to 2013 and spent a few years in between NFL jobs as an analyst at Pro Football Focus. It appears to be a forward-thinking hire by the Texans, although Slowik doesn't have experience calling plays at any level. The Texans are fully expected to take a QB with the 2nd overall pick of this spring's draft.
The Texans placed RB Dameon Pierce on IR with his ankle injury, ending his 2022 season. Pierce had an impressive rookie season, running for 939 yards on 4.3 yards per carry in a bad Houston offense. He currently ranks 8th in Pro Football Focus rushing grade and 3rd in Elusive Rating among 39 RBs with 100+ carries. It's enough to make Pierce the favorite to lead this backfield in 2023, but we'll see what the Texans do at the position this offseason. The Texans promoted RB Royce Freeman from the practice squad on Saturday. He joins Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale in the backfield for Sunday's game vs. the Chiefs.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce (ankle) is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Chiefs. RBs Dare Ogunbowale and Rex Burkhead are on the active roster, with RBs Royce Freeman and Gerrid Doaks on the practice squad. We’ll see if Houston makes an elevation on Saturday, but you should try to avoid this backfield in fantasy lineups.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce (ankle) did not practice on Wednesday. He's expected to miss at least this weekend's game vs. the Chiefs, leaving Houston's backfield to some combination of Dare Ogunbowale, Rex Burkhead, Royce Freeman and Gerrid Doaks.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce is expected to miss "at least" 1 game with a "relatively mild high-ankle sprain," a source tells insider Aaron Wilson. It sounds like Pierce could end up missing a couple of games but is expected back this season. Houston released RB Eno Benjamin on Tuesday, leaving Dare Ogunbowale and Rex Burkhead as the healthy RBs on the active roster. RB Royce Freeman is on the practice squad. Hopefully you don't need to mess with this situation in Week 15 fantasy lineups.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce ran for 78 yards and a TD on 22 carries in Sunday's surprisingly narrow loss to the Cowboys. He didn't draw a single target, which is alarming for his viability going forward. Pierce shared pass routes to Dare Ogunbowale (who led the team in that category), Eno Benjamin and Rex Burkhead. Pierce did leave in the 4th quarter with an ankle injury. Week 15 holds a neutral RB-scoring matchup with the Chiefs, if he's ready.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce suffered an ankle injury in the 2nd half of Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys. He's officially questionable to return. Stay tuned for an update.
Texans QB Davis Mills will start Sunday's game vs. the Cowboys, insider Aaron Wilson reports. QB Kyle Allen was a disaster the past 2 weeks, averaging 5.3 yards per pass attempt with 2 TDs vs. 4 INTs. Mills wasn't very good over the first 10 games of the season, but we'd consider him a slight upgrade for the offense.
Texans RB Dameon Pierce rushed 18 times for 73 yards in Sunday's loss to the Browns, adding 22 more yards on 3 receptions. That didn't make for big fantasy football numbers, but it did mark a big improvement over the previous 2 weeks. Pierce totaled just 16 yards on 8 touches at Miami last week and 17 yards on 12 touches vs. Washington the week before. We'll see what the rookie can do in Week 14 at Dallas.
Texans RB Rex Burkhead (concussion) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Browns. RB Eno Benjamin is active for the 1st time as a Texan and could play a passing-down role behind RB Dameon Pierce.
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