The Texans are still searching for answers in the backfield, and with David Montgomery dealing with a groin injury, they’ve at least kept one intriguing option in view.
Houston brought in running back Josh Pitsenberger for a visit on Tuesday, according to KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson. The undrafted rookie was with the team during training camp before an ankle injury derailed that run.
The Texans let him go after that, but with the backfield thin and the offense lacking punch on the ground, a reunion is still on the table. Pitsenberger didn’t leave with a contract, though Wilson said the “door is not closed.”
Pitsenberger’s college production at Yale was hard to ignore. The 6-foot runner rushed for 1,597 yards and 19 touchdowns in his senior season, enough to make him a possible fit if Houston decides to keep looking for help.
That search has become more urgent because the Texans’ running game simply hasn’t carried its weight. They’re 29th in the NFL with 84.7 rushing yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry, a big reason the offense has struggled to find balance during the 2026 season. The 2-5 Texans are trying to keep their playoff push alive, but they’re running out of room for error.
Montgomery has struggled when he’s been on the field, and Woody marks hasn’t delivered standout production either. That leaves C.J. Stroud absorbing too much pressure if Houston can’t get more from its ground game.
For now, DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Nick Caley have a possible option to revisit, but the Texans also know they may need to keep looking. The next chance to sharpen that offense comes Sunday on the road against the win-less Los Angeles Chargers.
In Other News...
Texans Bye Week Has Turned One Coaching Debate Into A Flashpoint
The Texans bye week has opened the door to a familiar kind of midseason conversation: not just what has gone wrong, but who on the coaching staff might be asked to answer for it. The offense, defense and special teams have all shown signs of slipping, and in a season where expectations have collided with uneven results, that kind of broad decline usually leads to a hard look at the assistants responsible for each phase.
Cole Popovich, Matt Burke, Frank Bush and Nick Caley are all part of that discussion as Houston tries to sort out where the accountability should land. The offensive lines regression has drawn attention, the defense has not held its standard, and special teams has not escaped scrutiny either, leaving the Texans with a staff debate that feels less theoretical by the day even if the final call still sits somewhere ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face A Growing C.J. Stroud Debate On Offense
Houstons offensive issues have started to swallow what looked like a promising start for C.J. Stroud, whose early-season play gave the Texans real hope that the unit had finally found its rhythm. Instead, the offense has settled into a frustrating pattern, with the running game struggling to take pressure off the quarterback and the line not giving the scheme much room to breathe. Head coach DeMeco Ryans has stayed publicly supportive of offensive coordinator Nick Caley, but the wider concern around the building is whether the current approach is asking too little of the defense-facing part of the roster and too much of Stroud.
Nick Caleys play-calling has become the center of the conversation because the Texans do not look like a team getting maximum value from their talent, and that puts the staff evaluation front and center. For a team trying to keep pace in a crowded AFC, this is no longer just about a slow stretch on offense. It is about whether Houston can keep waiting for the structure around Stroud to catch up, or whether the Texans eventually have to look harder at the coaching side of the equation to get the production they expected. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Face A Make-Or-Break Offensive Decision After The Bye
The Texans came out of the bye staring at a 2-5 start and a familiar kind of pressure, the sort that forces a front office and coaching staff to look hard at what is and is not working on offense. General manager Nick Caserio and coach DeMeco Ryans have already acknowledged that fixes are needed, and the conversation now turns to how Houston can get more out of a unit that has not found a consistent rhythm through the first stretch of the season.
One path is to put more on C.J. Strouds plate and let the passing game drive the offense with greater urgency. Another is to lean harder into outside runs, while also making better use of Marvin Harrison Jr., Jaylin Noel and Tank Dell, all of whom give Houston different ways to stress defenses. None of that guarantees a quick turnaround, but it does give the Texans a clearer sense of where the offense can be sharpened before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]