Texans Trade for David Montgomery, Adding Another Tool to a Backfield Built for Close Games

Houston acquired running back David Montgomery on Monday, the latest in a string of offseason moves that have steadily reshaped the roster around a specific, unresolved problem. The Texans won 60% of their tight games last season — the kind of number that looks acceptable until you remember it's what got them bounced in January.

Montgomery is listed as active and is expected to contribute as a dual-threat back alongside Woody Marks, who rushed for 832 yards and caught passes out of the backfield reliably enough to be a genuine factor in the passing game. The idea, per the team, is that Montgomery complements C.J. Stroud — gives the offense another way to control a game's final minutes rather than handing it back to a defense and hoping.

The offseason has been heavily weighted toward the defensive side — the Anderson extension, Clowney's return, To'oTo'o locked up through 2027 — so the Montgomery trade is a notable signal that the front office hasn't ignored the offensive piece of the close-game equation. Running backs who can catch and protect the ball late in one-score games don't fix everything, but they give a coaching staff more options when the margin shrinks.

Tank Dell remains questionable as camp continues, and the receiver room is still sorting itself out after Jaylin Noel's injury. The backfield, at least, just got deeper.