Dameon

Pierce

The Texans’ backup running back should be active on Monday night. He makes for a worthwhile bench stash and could even return RB4/5 value against the Cowboys’ struggling run defense.

Pierce has missed the last two games as a result of his injury, but was spotted on the practice field Thursday. The third-year back has had a challenging season dealing with injuries and the fact Joe Mixon is handling the majority of backfield touches. To date, Pierce has 14 carries for 98 yards and one touchdown, with most of his production coming on a 54-yard run in Week 6 against the Patriots. If he is active for Week 11 against the Cowboys, Pierce won’t have any fantasy upside, given the current state of Houston’s backfield. He could make for an interesting stash in deeper leagues, but that’s where his ceiling tops out at this point in time.

The Texans will be without their primary backup running back, who remains sidelined by a nagging groin injury. Fantasy managers can drop Pierce at this point. He holds no standalone value.

The Texans used J.J. Taylor and Dare Ogunbowale to give Joe Mixon a breather last week. The two backs combined for just four touches. Mixon will remain a workhorse back and an RB1 for Week 10 against the Lions.

Pierce was ruled out earlier in the week because of his groin injury. The Texans will also be missing Ward due to a groin issue, Patterson with a concussion and Al-Shaair out due to a shoulder injury.

Pierce has totaled more than three touches just once this season so his absence is largely inconsequential for Joe Mixon. The Texans also ruled out OL Jarrett Patterson, LB Azeez Al-Shaair and S Jimmie Ward against the Jets.

Pierce was listed as a non-participant for the second straight day, an indicator that he may not be ready for the Texans’ Thursday game against the Jets. He carried the ball once against the Colts in Week 8 and now Dare Ogunbowale is slated to be the Texans’ RB2 for Week 9. Ultimately, it looks like another Joe Mixon workhorse day this week.

It’s both an estimated practice and a new listing for Pierce, who had just one carry in Sunday’s win over the Colts. The Texans would likely turn to Dare Ogunbowale as their RB2 if Pierce could not play on Thursday. It’s also possible that Jawhar Jordan could get elevated off the practice squad to fill Pierce’s role.

Pierce has become a Joe Mixon bystander since Week 6’s blowout win, with just three offensive touches to his name the last two weeks. He’s not a must-roster if you’re in a tough bye week situation, though he would be in line for quite a bit of workload in the event of another Mixon injury.

He’s only a backup to Joe Mixon at this point and has no standalone fantasy value, but it would have been nice to see him at least carry a little bit more of the load in such a run-heavy game script for the Texans. Pierce should remain on benches barring surprising Mixon injury news in Week 8 against the Colts.