The Texans have re-signed running back Dare Ogunbowale, per Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. It is a one-year deal, with no financial details available at this time.
Houston was connected to a running back addition this offseason, and while the team did not land a premier free agent like Saquon Barkley, it did swing a trade for longtime Bengals RB Joe Mixon. While it is fair to question the wisdom of trading for a back with Mixon’s mileage while allowing Devin Singletary — who played well in 2023, his first and only season in Houston — to depart in free agency, the fact that the Texans subsequently extended Mixon underscores their faith in him.
The club currently has third-year pro Dameon Pierce as its RB2. Pierce played well in his rookie campaign but cratered last season, mustering a meager 2.9 yards-per-carry average on 145 rushing attempts after boasting a 4.2 YPC rate on 220 totes the year before. Rounding out the RB depth chart are J.J. Taylor, who did not play a single snap in 2023, and Gerrid Doaks, who has yet to see any regular season action since being selected by the Dolphins in the seventh round of the 2021 draft.
Clearly, then, there was a need for the Texans to add to the running back room, and they did so by reuniting with Ogunbowale, who just finished the two-year, $3.3M deal he signed with the club in March 2022. Though he carried the ball just eight times last season, he will at least reprise his role as a core special teams player — he appeared in 68% of Houston’s third phase snaps in 2023 and 61% in 2022 — even if he does not get more looks on offense.
Ogunbowale, who will turn 30 next month, does have some kickoff returns on his resume, and it is possible he will compete for work as a returner in light of the league’s revised kickoff rules. Of course, he made headlines last season when he converted a 29-yard-field goal attempt as the Texans’ emergency kicker in a Week 9 victory over the Bucs.
Houston, which clinched the AFC South by a one-game margin in 2023, defeated Tampa Bay 39-37 in that contest.
