Tag: Texans running backs

NFL free agency: Texans trade for Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon

The Houston Texans found their starting running back after agreeing to a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for Joe Mixon.

The Houston Texans have a running back.

General manager Nick Caserio made his biggest move of the offseason after he agreed to a trade with the Cincinnati Bengals for star running back Joe Mixon, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Reports initially stated Mixon would be released after the Bengals signed Zack Moss on Monday.

There were rumblings of Houston’s interested in Mixon, Sports Illustrated’s Coty Davis reported Monday, after the Texans didn’t strike deals with any of the other big-name running backs like Saquon Barkley or Tony Pollard. Houston also let 2023 leading rusher Devin Singletary leave. Their interest must have been serious, Caserio declined to wait for the star running back to hit free agency and instead simply traded for the 27 year-old back.

Mixon played for the Bengals for the past seven years since he was drafted with the No. 48 pick in 2017. During that period he has rushed for more thn 1,000 yards in four different seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2021.

He’s in the final year of his current deal and will be owed $5.75 million in 2024, $3 million of which will be guaranteed on March 17, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

The other $2.2 million is Mixon’s base salary. He will also earn incentives for specific rushing yard milestones and a $500,000 Pro Bowl incentive bonus, per KPRC 2’s Aaron Wilson:

  •  $250,000 for 1,100 yards
  • $350,000 for 1,300 yards
  • $500,000 for 1,500 yards
  • $250,000 for 1,600 yards from scrimmage
  • $350,000 for 1,800 yards from scrimmage
  • $500,000 for 2,000 yards from scrimmage
  • $250 for 10 total touchdowns
  • $350,000 for 12 total touchdowns
  • $500,000 for 14 total touchdowns.
  • $500,000 Pro Bowl incentive

For the Texans, this answers a serious question over their running back dilemma. Mixon will be the starter and likely serve as a three-down back for offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s offense. Dameon Pierce and potentially another free agent or rookie will serve as depth behind the veteran star.

This move should hopefully take pressure off of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud as well and create a more balanced attack than the team featured in 2024.

Texans OC Tim Kelly says RB Royce Freeman has been ‘diligent’ in learning offense

Houston Texans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly says that running back Royce Freeman has done well in learning the offense.

The Houston Texans have been retooling their running back stable midseason.

The Texans traded running back Mark Ingram back to the New Orleans Saints, where his career began as a 2011 first-round pick, and Houston released running back Phillip Lindsay this week.

Houston also added former Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers running back Royce Freeman to the fold, and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly likes what the former 2018 third-round pick can bring to the run game.

“He’s got good vision, he’s got good patience, he runs hard,” Kelly said. “Obviously, we haven’t seen him here in a lot of situations, but going against our defense he’s done a good job giving them looks.”

What Kelly appreciates about how Freeman has worked since joining the Texans is the way he has immersed himself in the playbook.

“He’s been smart and he’s diligent in how he prepares and the amount of time he’s spent learning the offense,” said Kelly. “I’ve been very impressed with him so far.”

In the Week 11 win over the Tennessee Titans, Rex Burkhead led the way with 18 carries for 40 yards with David Johnson providing 13 carries for 18 yards. Lindsay had a single carry for minus-3 yards.

Kelly expects the running back group to continue carrying the load with the departure of Lindsay and the addition of Freeman.

Said Kelly: “I think they’ll just kind of keep going as they’ve been playing. Obviously, Rex’s workload has kind of increased a little bit, David’s workload has kind of increased. then we have Royce. Those guys have done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve done a good job learning the game plan and coming out every day and practicing. I look forward to them doing the same thing.”

The Texans take on the New York Jets, who are also 2-8, Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.

Texans G Tytus Howard says RB Rex Burkhead runs ‘like he’s got some young legs’

Houston Texans guard Tytus Howard says that running back Rex Burkhead is running with fresh legs at age 31.

Houston Texans left guard Tytus Howard says that Rex Burkhead is running with some freshness not customary for a 31-year-old running back.

Howard says that Burkhead, a former Cincinnati Bengals 2013 sixth-round pick from Nebraska, is hitting the hole with burst.

“He’s out there running the ball like he’s got some young legs,” Howard said. “He’s doing a great job. I think after somebody hits him, he just keeps going. I think that just brings a lot of energy to the offense, making the run game a lot better.”

Burkhead provided Houston with 18 carries for 40 yards in the Texans’ 22-13 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 11 at Nissan Stadium. On the season, Burkhead has tallied 25 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown while catching five passes for 38 yards.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor applauded Burkhead for his play against Tennessee.

Said Taylor: “Rex played his butt off this past week. He’s done a great job in the run game as well as in the passing game too. Pass blocking, kind of checks all the boxes.”

Burkhead isn’t just a gamer. According to Howard, the former Bengal and New England Patriot is also bringing the same intensity in practice.

“He does this each and every day at practice, so you know what you’re going to get out of Rex every day, whether it’s practice, a game or whatever,” said Burkhead. “He’s a real pro.”

The Texans have improved their record to 2-8, and will take on a similarly 2-8 team Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time in the New York Jets. The AFC East club visits NRG Stadium giving up 4.6 yards per carry, tied for the fifth-most in the NFL. If Burkhead can spark Houston’s run game against the Jets, the Texans should be able to present a two-dimensional approach to control the game.

David Culley says Texans were ‘top heavy’ at RB and released Phillip Lindsay

Coach David Culley says the Houston Texans were “top heavy” at running back, which necessitated the release of Phillip Lindsay.

HOUSTON — Tuesday afternoon, the Houston Texans released veteran running back Phillip Lindsay, as first reported by Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790.

Lindsay’s release came two days after he rushed for negative three yards on his lone attempt during the Texans’ 22-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

“When we looked at the roster, we felt like we did what was best for the team,” coach David Culley said Wednesday morning. “We were top heavy at the position, and we have Scottie [Phillips] coming back at some point. We felt like it was the best decision for us and Phillip to make that move.”

The release of Lindsay — in addition to Phillips still on injured reserve — the Texans will enter their Week 12 match against the 2-8 New York Jets with three running backs on their active roster.

Among the running backs suiting up for the Texans inside NRG Stadium on Sunday is Royce Freeman.

Houston claimed the 25-year-old California native off waivers on Nov. 9, and offensive coordinator Tim Kelly believes Freeman will enhance the Texans’ inefficient run game.

Freeman played eight games as a member of the Carolina Panthers prior to joining the Texans.

“He has good vision and he runs hard,” Kelly said. “When going against our defense, he has done a great job giving them looks. He is smart in how he prepares and I’ve been very impressed with him so far.”

During his short stint with the Texans, Lindsay appeared in 10 games after joining the franchise as a free agent in March.

Lindsay was far from the player that received a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie in 2018, as he rushed for 130 yards on 50 attempts. Lindsay’s lone touchdown of the season came during the Texans’ Week 1 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in September.

Report: Texans to cut RB Phillip Lindsay

The Houston Texans are making a move to cut running back Phillip Lindsay.

The Houston Texans are going in a different direction with their run game.

According to Aaron Wilson of Sports Talk 790, the Texans are cutting former Pro Bowl running back Phillip Lindsay.

Lindsay produced one carry for minus-3 yards in the 22-13 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 11. Throughout the 2021 campaign, Lindsay tallied 50 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown. His single-game high was 39 yards generated in the Week 6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The former Denver Bronco signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract to join the Texans in free agency. Lindsay was a strong proponent of Houston and their culture throughout training camp.

“Think about it, everybody come in here and, for some reason, they think we’re the scum bucket,” Lindsay said on July 29. “I don’t know what they got going on in the media. Everybody has something to prove because there’s some great dudes in there, and they are really talented and they played a lot of football. And we just want to get on the same page, and we’re going to do that over time and put some games together and win a lot of games. That’s our goal.”

The 2-8 Texans host the 2-8 New York Jets Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at NRG Stadium.

Texans WR Brandin Cooks says run game takes pressure off play-calling

Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks says that the run game opening up allows for the play-calling to be less anxious.

The Houston Texans rushing offense has been as effective bloodletting to treating strep throat.

The Texans’ rushing attack has generated 3.3 yards per carry, the absolute worst in the NFL, and averages 75.8 yards per game, the second-worst in the league. When the Texans have wanted to move the ball on offense, they have had to rely on the pass. However, opposing defenses are aware of this reality, and don’t have to defend Houston in a two-dimensional fashion.

Receiver Brandin Cooks has been a beneficiary of the Texans’ reliance upon the passing attack with 57 catches for 641 yards and two touchdowns through nine games. Yet the eighth-year wideout knows that the Texans don’t have a prayer to snap their eight-game losing streak if they can’t open up the run game.

“Just from our team, we preach physicality,” Cooks said. “Any time you can run the ball well, that gives your team a boost. But from a whole offensive standpoint, it just opens up everything else.”

The best part of the run game working is it allows offensive coordinator Tim Kelly to be more creative with his play calls rather than cycle through the same passing plays.

“When your backs are running hard and your O-line is able to do what they do, and you’re getting good yards per carry, I feel like from a play calling standpoint, that just takes a lot of pressure off of T.K. (Kelly). That’s what we look forward to doing.”

Although it is easy to scapegoat the offensive line as being the issue for why the running backs aren’t able to generate any movement, Cooks also takes responsibility on behalf of the perimeter players.

Said Cooks: “We’ve all got a part in that, not just the O-line and the running backs, but the receivers as well, blocking downfield and staying engaged with our man.”

The Texans may find a crease agains the Tennessee Titans. Although the leaders of the AFC South are 8-2, they give up 4.4 yards per carry, tied for the 11th-most in the league.

Texans coach David Culley attributes offensive struggles to mental errors

Houston Texans coach David Culley says that the reason the offense has had struggles is due to the amount of mental errors.

HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans left AT&T Stadium with a 20-14 preseason victory against the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday, they did so with a mediocre offensive performance. The Texans went 0-for-10 on third-down conversions while recording 220 total yards.

Immediately after the game, first-year head coach David Culley attributed a bulk of Houston’s offensive struggles to the Cowboys’ blitz defense. But after a lengthy film review, Culley became aware of more intangibles that made the Texans’ offense appear subpar.

“As we went back and looked at the video, there were mental errors that we had,” Culley said prior to Thursday’s practice. “It had nothing to do with them [the Cowboys] blitzing us more than what we have seen. We worked on them this week to make sure that doesn’t happen [again]. It was more us than them.”

The Texans’ run game struggled the most in Dallas. They recorded a total of 89 yards on the ground, one week after they rushed for 170 during their exhibition victory over the Green Bay Packers. According to Culley, the Texans’ drop-off in their run game was the result of Tim Kelly — Houston’s offensive coordinator — experimenting with different personnel for evaluation.

Presumed starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor says communication and execution are the keys to improving the Texans’ offense. It’s the two elements the Texans will focus on the most during their preseason finale against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, at NRG Stadium.

Texans re-sign RB Buddy Howell to 1-year contract

The Houston Texans have re-signed running back Buddy Howell to a one-year contract.

The Houston Texans have brought back running back Buddy Howell on a one-year contract.

According to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle, the total value of the contract is $1.8 million.

The contract will include a $1 million base salary and a $200,000 signing bonus. Howell’s deal also accounts for up to $300,000 in per-game active roster bonuses.

If the Texans were to tender the former 2018 undrafted free agent from Florida Atlantic as a restricted free agent, his value would be $2.133 million. Clearly re-signing Howell was the cheaper option the salary cap-strapped Texans would take.

The former Miami Dolphin has played 45 games with the Texans, taking 21 carries for 74 yards and catching one pass for three yards. Howell’s true value has been on special teams, where he has played 795 snaps compared to 86 on offense.