The Houston Texans have been faced with a few position battles over the course of their first week of training camp.
The offensive line, their linebacker group, and even their punter spot have seen roles up for grabs in the past few weeks.
But now, the Texans' running back room might now be a position worth throwing into that mix of groups in for some competition, which comes as a result of their latest injury at the position.
According to a report from KPRC2 's Aaron Wilson, third-year running back British Brooks suffered a broken hand in training camp practice that will require surgery, and put him out for a three-week window.
That's an injury in the running back room that can be easily overlooked, but does have some big implications as it relates to the Texans 53-man roster, and what their running back room is going to look like once the season starts.
Last season, Brooks played over 270 snaps for the Texans on special teams, and even had 70 on the offensive side. That's an average of nearly 20 combined snaps per game.
Of course, a three-week recovery doesn't exactly put Brooks out into the regular season. If he got his surgery on August 5th, then he'd have over two weeks to go before the Texans kick off the year against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 .
If Brooks had his roster spot locked in for next season, then the injury might not be worth looking into much at all, but he's not exactly one to be considered a roster lock.
He's a valuable piece on special teams who's managed limited work in the backfield, but that's a position that could be in position to be replaced if another standout emerges in camp.
Right now, the Texans would need one of their undrafted players brought in from earlier this offseason to step up and rise above Brooks, for that depth chart shift to be a possibility. And that's not exactly impossible.
Both of Noah Whittington and Joshua Pitsenberger have been on the roster since April and appear to be guys that the Texans like the upside enough to make them priority additions after the draft. If either prove to have the special teams upside that Brooks does, then maybe Brooks' spot is in danger.
Or, there's also the possibility that the Texans sign another free agent running back to come in with hopes of claiming a roster spot over Brooks.
Houston already brought in a couple of names earlier last week in Alexander Mattison and Hassan Haskins for a workout, and more could be on the way as there are now only five names on the Texans' roster at the position.
There's also a slim chance that the Texans simply hold three running backs on the roster heading into the season, regardless of what Brooks' injury status is. And in that case, there's no need to sign extra depth.
Jan 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back British Brooks (44) carries the ball as Indianapolis Colts linebacker Germaine Pratt (53) defends during the second half at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
If Jawhar Jordan has that special teams upside, and Houston is confident in giving Montgomery and Marks a significant share of the work in the backfield, then an RB4 might not be necessary to have onboard. Many teams around the league take that approach themselves, even if the Texans decided to bring on five at the start of the 2025 season.
All of that's to say, there's a lot of uncertainty in the backend of the Texans' running back room, and has a ton of room to shift across the coming days to weeks, depending on how pressing of a need Houston feels their depth at the position is.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi as Why Texans' RB Competition Just Got Much More Interesting .
