The Texans keep saying they want to be a hat-on-hat, smash-mouth team. The problem is that the run game has not matched the talk.
Offensive coordinator Nick Caley and offensive line coach/run game coordinator Cole Popovich have not been able to get that style humming, and last season the easy excuse was Joe Mixon’s mysterious injury/illness/medical foot condition. In the offseason, general manager Nick Caserio tried to patch the issue by trading for former Detroit Lion RB2 David Montgomery, but he got hurt too.
That has left Woody Marks carrying a jumbo-package rushing attack built on basic plays that, as the source put it, “wouldn’t fool the local High School defense, much less an NFL one.” Marks is a strong runner, but he is not a full backfield by himself.
Head coach Demeco Ryans appears to believe the problem is with the players rather than the coaching, 100%. If that is the case, then the obvious player answer is Derrick Henry.
Henry is 33 and near the end of the road, but he still has plenty left. He would not need to carry the Texans the way he does with the Baltimore Ravens, and even the threat of him would force defenses to respect the run more often.
Through 2026, Henry has 158 carries for 632 yards, a 4.0 yards per carry average, and 12 catches on 14 targets for 75 yards. He has also scored 9 touchdowns, good for 7th in the current running back Top 10.
Those 9 touchdowns would matter a lot in Houston. The source says that kind of production could move the Texans to 5-2, if not 6-1.
There is also the reality of the trade deadline. ESPN’s Dan Graziano wrote that fans should watch Henry closely as the deadline nears, because Baltimore could move him for draft picks if this season keeps going sideways.
“If he isn’t in Baltimore’s plans beyond this year, the Ravens could find themselves fielding offers over the next week,” Graziano wrote. “Henry’s base salary this year is just $1.255 million (he made the rest of this year’s $14 million via bonuses the Ravens have already paid), so he’d be extremely easy for another team to absorb onto its cap.”
The sticking point is compensation. Rumors say it would take at least a second-round pick and a player or later-round pick to get Henry out of Baltimore.
Houston currently has a first, third, fourth and three seventh-round picks in 2027, plus its normal complement in 2028. The source notes Baltimore probably would not settle for a third to keep Henry in the AFC, especially if the Giants are willing to offer a second.
There is one wrinkle that makes Houston interesting: the Ravens are thin at quarterback, while the Texans have Davis Mills, who is described here as arguably one of the best QB2s in the NFL. That opens the door to a possible package of Mills, a third and a seventh for Henry.
Even so, moving Stroud’s backup would be risky in a league where injuries are “when’s” not “ifs”. But the argument here is that Houston’s own coaching choices have pushed the team into this corner.
Tonight’s Ravens-Jaguars game could shape the whole thing. Jacksonville is in Baltimore for Thursday Night Football, and if the Ravens win, Henry likely stays put. If they lose, Caserio is on the clock.
The result also matters in the AFC South. If the Jaguars win, they keep their grip on the division lead.
If they lose, Houston can close the gap, assuming it beats the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. That leaves the Texans with a strange rooting interest: either pull for Jacksonville to lose so the division path gets clearer, or pull for Baltimore to lose so the door opens wider for a Henry trade.
The source also points out that Houston never really went after Henry when he left the BESFs, and now may finally have a chance to fix that. Henry has already shown he can run in NRG.
If the Texans are serious about the smash-mouth identity they keep talking about, then Henry is a move they need to explore. And if they want that identity to mean something, they may have to pay for it.
In Other News...
Texans Trade Deadline Focus Just Shifted To One Critical Roster Hole
With the NFL trade deadline closing in, the Texans find themselves weighing more than just whether to buy or sell at 2-5. Houston has obvious areas to address, and the conversation around possible roster upgrades has centered on the running game, the offensive line and the secondary, all spots that have shown up as pressure points during a disappointing start.
Devin Singletary has been floated as a possible answer in the backfield, while Landon Dickerson would fit the kind of interior line help the Texans could use if they choose to chase it. Jalen Pitre, meanwhile, underscores how much the secondary matters to this team right now, especially with injuries and uneven play forcing the Texans to keep evaluating where the next fix might come from. [Read more 🡒]
C.J. Stroud's Next Texans Debate Is Getting Harder To Ignore
C.J. Strouds second season has already pushed the Texans into a familiar kind of quarterback conversation, the sort that goes beyond weekly box scores and into the long-term shape of the roster. A recent statistical look at his profile compared him with a pair of very different passers, Kirk Cousins and Caleb Williams, using a composite ranking and similarity scores built from a range of performance metrics. For Houston, that kind of comparison matters because it frames Stroud not just as a young starter, but as part of a broader quarterback class whose production and trajectory can affect how teams think about value.
The contract angle is what makes the debate harder to ignore. If Strouds statistical neighborhood includes veterans and rising young quarterbacks tied to extension discussions, then the Texans are staring at the same kind of decision every team eventually faces with a franchise passer: how to translate promising play into a deal that fits both the players standing and the teams future. The numbers do not settle the issue on their own, but they do sharpen the stakes around Strouds next chapter in Houston. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Secondary Question Could Force A Fascinating Deadline Decision
The Texans secondary is already dealing with enough uncertainty that outside help is starting to sound less like a luxury and more like a real possibility. ESPN analyst Aaron Schatz floated the idea of Houston pursuing Raiders cornerback Taron Johnson, a veteran nickel defender whose experience and versatility could give the defense another reliable option while the team waits for clarity on Jalen Pitres shoulder injury.
Johnson would fit the kind of role the Texans could use, especially if they want more depth and tactical flexibility in the back end. The bigger question is whether Houston sees the move as worth the price at the deadline, because any pursuit will have to be weighed against the rest of the roster and whatever priorities the front office decides matter most. [Read more 🡒]