The Houston Texans will look to build on their quick rise this past season as defending AFC South champions.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans spoke about upgrading areas of the roster after the team’s divisional loss to the Baltimore Ravens, and one of the most obvious areas is in the running game. While Devin Singletary was solid in the backfield, he has a ceiling as a productive running back. The Texans have a lot of salary cap space, too, and could look elsewhere in free agency for that position.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that “there’s buzz league-wide that Houston could try to improve at running back to help second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud.” That makes sense considering the amount of quality veteran running backs set to hit the open market and the numerous reports which linked Houston to impending free agents like Tony Pollard, Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs.
All four would be upgrades over Singletary and Dameon Pierce, but all four come with a price. Financially, they would be costly considering their pedigree and production throughout their careers. They’re also older (save for Pollard) and have a lot more tread on their tires than cheaper running backs.
But if the Texans truly want to take off in 2024, they’ll need to take risks. Paying for a running back is one of the bigger ones Houston could take – and one that hasn’t paid off for other teams in the past – but if the Texans trust Ryans, Stroud and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, it could be enough to take them over the top this upcoming season.