The Texans lost more than a running back in Tennessee on Sunday. They also lost one of the few veterans in their backfield when David Montgomery was ruled out for the rest of the game with a groin injury.
Montgomery was hurt in the second quarter against the Titans and went into halftime as questionable before Houston later downgraded him to out. The team’s injury update made it official: “.@ShariffLawFirm Texans Injury Update:#32 RB David Montgomery has been downgraded to out with a groin injury.”
Before leaving, Montgomery had five carries for 11 yards, with a long run of five yards. It was a quiet line on a day that never really got going for him.
The injury adds another name to a growing list of Texans players dealing with groin issues in recent weeks. Ed Ingram missed time with one in Weeks 2 and 3, and Azeez Al-Shaair also sat out last weekend against the Dallas Cowboys with a groin injury.
For Montgomery, the setback comes after a rough start to his Texans stint. He opened his debut against the Buffalo Bills with three touchdowns, but since then he has totaled 32 carries for 78 yards, an average of 2.4 yards per carry. Houston brought him in earlier this offseason in a deal with the Detroit Lions that included Juice Scruggs and multiple draft picks, and he has not come close to matching those expectations so far.
Now the focus shifts to how long the issue might keep him sidelined. At minimum, he’s out for the rest of the game in Nashville, and the Texans may have some room to breathe with their Week 8 bye approaching. Houston goes to London in Week 6 to face the Jacksonville Jaguars, hosts the New York Giants the next week, and then returns in Week 9 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
If Montgomery misses more time, Woody Marks should handle most of the carries, with Dare Ogunbowale potentially seeing an increased role as well. Ogunbowale, signed to the active roster earlier this season, is the only active running back on the roster for Week 5.
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Even with those two back on track, the week is hardly clean on either side of the ball. Several other Texans are still working through questionable or limited designations, so the final game-day roster could still shift before kickoff. Against a Titans team that always seems to make these divisional meetings feel heavier than the record suggests, Houston will be watching the injury report closely right up to the end. [Read more 🡒]
Titans-Texans Just Took A Sudden Turn With Houston's Backfield
Houstons backfield took a hit in the middle of its Week 5 matchup with Tennessee when David Montgomery was downgraded to out after leaving in the second quarter with a groin injury. The Texans made the call official and ruled him out for the rest of the game, forcing the offense to adjust on the fly at a spot where game-to-game stability matters plenty.
With Montgomery unavailable, Houston will have to lean more heavily on its other running backs and the passing game to carry the load the rest of the way. The bigger question now is what this injury means beyond Sunday, because the team has not offered any detail yet on how serious it is or whether it could affect his availability in the coming weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Titans' Miserable Day Somehow Got Even More Embarrassing In Nashville
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Then a strange sideline moment made the afternoon even more memorable for all the wrong reasons. After a play behind the end zone, a staffer got knocked down and his pants fell, exposing him in full view, and Robert Griffin III turned the clip into one of the days more amusing social media reactions. For Houston, it was another reminder that sometimes the story around a game spills far outside the lines. [Read more 🡒]