Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale (knee) is active for today’s game vs. the Jaguars. He should continue mixing in behind lead back Royce Freeman.

RB Royce Freeman led the Texans with 11 carries and 51 yards in Sunday's loss to the Chiefs, the 1st game since RB Dameon Pierce landed on IR with a high-ankle sprain. RB Dare Ogunbowale got the position's only other carries, taking 8 rushes for 14 yards. RB Rex Burkhead led the backfield in targets (4), receptions (2) and receiving yards (17). Freeman added a 5-yard catch on his only target. This is a backfield to avoid the rest of the way.

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 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.

The Texans re-signed RB Royce Freeman after dumping him at final cuts. Houston now has Freeman, Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale behind Dameon Pierce -- plus Marlon Mack on the practice squad.

The Texans have cut RB Royce Freeman. With Marlon Mack on the practice squad, Houston’s depth now turns up Rex Burkhead and Dare Ogunbowale behind rookie Dameon Pierce.

Texans rookie RB Dameon Pierce ran for 37 yards and a TD on 6 carries in Thursday night's preseason finale against the 49ers. Pierce started the game and handled Houston's first 4 RB carries before giving way to Rex Burkhead for a 2nd-down run on the opening possession. Pierce then converted the 3rd-and-1 play that followed and later scored the 1-yard TD run to close the drive. That marked the end of Pierce's night, with Burkhead, Marlon Mack and other playing on. HC Lovie Smith tried to temper the buzz on Pierce ahead of the game. “We’re talking a lot about Dameon, but I’m going to say the same thing for, we like what Marlon has done, Royce, Rex, Dare," he said Wednesday, per Texans Wire. "We have a good group. We have a good strong running back room.” It's pretty clear that the rookie will lead that room into the season. Just how much work Pierce gets will be the question we can't answer. And it's worth keeping in mind that no one expects this offense to rank in the top half of the league. Still, there's a case to be made for Pierce anywhere beyond the top 24 RBs in fantasy football drafts right now. The rookie moved up our RB rankings a little this morning.

Texans RB David Johnson was not activated from the COVID list and will miss today’s game vs. the 49ers. Rex Burkhead should remain Houston’s clear lead back, with Royce Freeman the #2.

Texans RB David Johnson (quad) is inactive for today’s game vs. the Chargers. Rex Burkhead should operate as Houston’s clear lead back, with Royce Freeman as the #2.

Texans RB David Johnson (quad) is not expected to play vs. the Chargers today, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. That'll leave Royce Freeman as the #2 RB behind Rex Burkhead.

Texans RB David Johnson (quad) is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game vs. the Chargers. He didn’t practice all week, though, so he seems unlikely to play. Look for Rex Burkhead to serve as Houston’s clear lead back on Sunday, with Royce Freeman as the #2.

Texans RB Rex Burkhed (hip) won't play vs. the Jaguars on Sunday, HC David Culley said. It'll be David Johnson and Royce Freeman in the backfield for that one. Johnson is the better fantasy bet, but it's a situation to avoid if you can.

Texans RB David Johnson (illness, thigh) is "unlikely" to play vs. the Colts today, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. We'll find out for sure around 11:30 am ET. Johnson and Rex Burkhead have been splitting backfield work lately, so Johnson's absence would be a boost to Burkhead's projected volume. Houston also has RBs Royce Freeman and Jaylen Samuels on the active roster.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey is scheduled for testing on his injured hamstring on Friday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. So we should get an idea of how long CMC will be out later today. Per Rapoport, McCaffrey was quickly ruled out of last night's game because he "could not push off at all on that hamstring." McCaffrey owners should be bracing for a multi-game absence, but we'll pass along more info as soon as we have it. After McCaffrey exited the Texans game, RB Chuba Hubbard out-snapped RB Royce Freeman 38 to 11. Hubbard is the priority add on waiver wires, but Freeman is worth a stash in most leagues, too.

Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey suffered a hamstring injury in the 2nd quarter of Thursday night's game vs. the Texans and was quickly ruled out. That suggests a relatively serious injury. We'll update McCaffrey's status as soon as we learn more. RB Chuba Hubbard looks like the next man up for Carolina. RB Royce Freeman is also on the roster.

The Panthers have claimed RB Royce Freeman off waivers from the Broncos. He joins a thin depth chart behind Christian McCaffrey. Freeman's not likely to find fantasy relevance in Carolina, but he could challenge rookie Chuba Hubbard for touches behind McCaffrey.