GM Nick Caserio said Tuesday that he expects Pierce to be "a big part" of the Houston offense this upcoming season, Tyler Milner of Sports Radio 610 reports. The 2022 fourth-round pick ran for 939 yards in 13 games his rookie season but then managed just 416 yards in 14 games last year. Pierce nosedived from 4.3 YPC to 2.9, losing his starting job to Devin Singletary in the process. Singletary is with the Giants now, but Pierce nonetheless appear destined for a backup role after the Texans traded for Joe Mixon and gave him an extension. The team then waited until the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft to select a running back, taking a player (Louisville's Jawhar Jordan) who six months older than Pierce and might only be used as a kick return specialist. In other words, Pierce has a nice opportunity to keep the second spot on the depth chart despite his lousy performance last season, though Dare Ogunbowale remains a threat to get playing time in obvious pass situations.
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Rushing
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG | FD | FUM |
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| 2023 | HOU | 14 | 145 | 416 | 3 | 2 | 22 | 22 | 0 |
| 2022 | HOU | 13 | 220 | 939 | 4 | 4 | 75 | 32 | 4 |
Receiving
2023 Postseason Stats
2023 Regular Season Stats
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1/13
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W 45-14
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3
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0
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0
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0
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1
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0
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-
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-
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-
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12/31
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26-3
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8
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16
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2
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5
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0
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1
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1
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5
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5
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0
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5
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1
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12/24
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22-36
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3
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6
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2
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4
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1
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2
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10
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10
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10
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6
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12/17
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19-16
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3
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3
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0
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3
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6-30
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4
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9
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2.3
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4
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0
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1
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1
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22-17
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15
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41
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2.7
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1
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22
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4
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Career History
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GM Nick Caserio said Tuesday that he expects Pierce to be "a big part" of the Houston offense this upcoming season, Tyler Milner of Sports Radio 610 reports. The 2022 fourth-round pick ran for 939 yards in 13 games his rookie season but then managed just 416 yards in 14 games last year. Pierce nosedived from 4.3 YPC to 2.9, losing his starting job to Devin Singletary in the process. Singletary is with the Giants now, but Pierce nonetheless appear destined for a backup role after the Texans traded for Joe Mixon and gave him an extension. The team then waited until the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft to select a running back, taking a player (Louisville's Jawhar Jordan) who six months older than Pierce and might only be used as a kick return specialist. In other words, Pierce has a nice opportunity to keep the second spot on the depth chart despite his lousy performance last season, though Dare Ogunbowale remains a threat to get playing time in obvious pass situations.
Pierce looks slated to work as the backup to Joe Mixon, DJ Bien-Amie of ESPN reports. Pierce will no longer have to compete with Devin Singletary, who won the starting job down the stretch in 2023 before leaving in free agency, but he now faces a stronger obstacle to touches in the form of Mixon, who had 257 carries for 1,034 yards and nine TDs last year and boasts a true three-down skillset. As a rookie in 2022, Pierce burst onto the scene with 939 rushing yards, but he disappointed in Year 2 with just 416 yards on the ground. The 2022 fourth-round pick could bounce back if he can better adjust to the running scheme introduced last offseason by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, but the team could also add more competition to this backfield ahead of Week 1.
In his return from a three-week absence, Pierce finished with one fewer carry and four fewer rushing yards than Devin Singletary. While Singletary was hardly better on the ground, he contributed 54 receiving yards, which is almost double Pierce's season-high receiving total of 28 yards from back in Week 3. Pierce has just 341 rushing yards on 114 carries (3.0 YPC) and only one scrimmage touchdown in eight appearances heading into a Week 13 visit from the Broncos.
Though Pierce has missed the Texans' last three games and is taking a designation into Sunday, he appears on track to play after he was listed as a full practice participant Wednesday and Friday. Assuming Pierce is cleared ahead of Sunday's 1 p.m. ET kickoff, he could be relegated to sharing work out of the backfield with Devin Singletary, who averaged 4.4 yards on 65 rushing attempts while catching five passes for 17 yards and scoring twice while operating as Houston's lead back the past three weeks. Pierce, meanwhile, is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry over seven appearances this season, with his lack of efficiency costing him playing time even before he sustained the ankle injury. Given the uncertainty of what his workload might look like Sunday, Pierce doesn't profile as an appealing option in fantasy lineups for Week 12.
Pierce missed a third straight game this past Sunday against the Cardinals, but he appeared to take a step forward leading up to that contest, as he was able to return to practice Friday as a limited participant. He's now opened Week 12 prep as a full participant, signaling that he's moved past the ankle issue and is on track to suit up Sunday against the Jaguars. Though Pierce has served as Houston's starting running back in each of his seven appearances this season and could take the first snap against Jacksonville, Pierce may be the starter in name only. According to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said Wednesday that he believes in "sharing the load" out of the backfield between Pierce and Devin Singletary, who served as the team's lead back over the past three weeks. Considering that Singletary averaged 5.0 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns on 52 totes over the past two games, any timeshare arrangement is seemingly more likely to tilt in his favor, given the extent to which Pierce struggled prior to missing time. Pierce averaged just 3.0 yards per carry over seven appearances this season, ranking last in the NFL among all players with more than 60 carries.
Pierce returned to practice last Friday as a limited participant before missing a third straight game in Sunday's loss to the Cardinals. He's on track to be ready for an AFC South battle with Jacksonville on Sunday, though he probably won't be returning to a lead role after Devin Singletary put forth Houston's two best rushing performances of the season the past two weeks.
Back-to-back absences set the stage for what (if anything) Pierce does Friday to provide key context regarding the running back's chances of returning to action Sunday against the Cardinals. If Pierce is forced to miss his third straight game this weekend, Devin Singletary would once again be in line to lead the Texans backfield Week 11.
Another absence from practice suggests Pierce is in danger of missing a third straight game when the Texans face the Cardinals this Sunday. Even if Pierce demonstrates enough progress as the week goes along to play against Arizona, he may be returning to a smaller role than what he enjoyed previously. Devin Singletary erupted for 150 rushing yards in a 30-27 win over the Bengals this past Sunday, while Pierce has failed to exceed 81 rushing yards in any of his seven appearances this season and is averaging just 3.0 yards per carry.
Pierce didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday and appears to be trending toward missing Sunday's contest. If that ends up being confirmed by the Texans later Friday, Devin Singletary would be in line to step into an expanded role this weekend, with Mike Boone and Dare Ogunbowale in reserve.