INDIANAPOLIS -- Coach DeMeco Ryans revealed one of the Houston Texans' top objectives two days after their season ended against the Baltimore Ravens on Jan. 20 — improving the rushing attack would be a "significant" priority this off-season.
Due to the inevitable departure of Saquon Barkley , the Texans are favorites to land the New York Giants' two-time All-Pro running back. Barkley's signing with the Texans seems certain once free agency begins on March 13.
But regardless of his stature, general manager Nick Caserio vows to do his due diligence when determining which running back will be a good fit when evaluating players at every position. His plan has led to Caserio not ruling out the possibility of re-signing several current players, including Devin Singletary.
"‘Motor’ [Devin Singletary] had a great year, did a lot of great things for us. ‘Motor’ is a free agent," Caserio said. "We'll see how it goes. There's a lot of good players that are out there. There's a lot of good players that are out there at a number of different positions, and our job is to evaluate, try to make good decisions."
Before the start of the 2023 season, the thought of the Texans prioritizing a running back in free agency appeared laughable. The future seemed bright for then-starting running back Dameon Pierce, who nearly rushed for 1,000 yards as a rookie in 2022.
Unfortunately for the Texans, Pierce experienced a significant decline. As a result, Devin Singletary gave Houston a boost in their rushing attack midway through the season. They struggled to run the ball until Singletary rushed for a career-best 150 yards during their Week 10 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Nov. 12.
The opportunity to take the helm as Houston's lead back led to Singletary recording career highs across the board, rushing for 898 yards on 216 attempts and four touchdowns.
He also added 30 catches for 193 yards, becoming a solid contributor to the Texans' passing game. The Texans entered the off-season "very pleased" with Singletary's production, creating a realistic reunion with the Buffalo Bills' former third-round pick (No. 74 overall) in 2019.
"He's a hard worker," Ryans said. "He's a leader. He shows up every day in practice with a great attitude, and the guys around him feed off of that. So, Devin is a great guy. We'll see what happens in free agency, but we'd love to have Devin back just because of what he brought to our team. He was a bright spot for us in that running back room.”
Re-signing Singletary is a stable plan for Houston. His projective market value is $5.3 million for a three-year deal, according to Spotrac. The Texans will have over $67.0 million to spend in free agency. There is a chance Houston could leave free agency with two prominent running backs.
The Texans have a handful of players they would like to re-sign. For Caserio, his decision will come down to a player's value, both their price market and role for the team.
"Every year markets change, and I think sometimes what happens is I'd say with some of the tender numbers, you sort of get pigeonholed or benchmarked because once you establish a certain financial commitment level," Caserio said.
"It's almost used as a starting point, so you're either comfortable paying him that level or you're not, and it's all about resource allocation. Our job is to try to find good football players and add good players to our team."
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