Houston Texans Signing Nick Chubb Could End Veteran’s Tenure

It's a big-time pickup for the Texans' offense. Chubb comes in as another veteran runner to fill in next to Joe Mixon already in the backfield, making for a potentially explosive one-two punch for this Houston run game behind C.J. Stroud.

However, with Chubb likely entering the picture as another face in the running back room, it could inevitably mark the end of one tenured veteran on the roster heading into next season, and that's Dameon Pierce.

Pierce, who's been with the Texans across the past three seasons as a fourth round pickup during the 2022 NFL Draft, has been a mainstay in this backfield since making his way onto the roster–– logging over 400 total carries for 1,648 yards and eight touchdowns.

Yet, Pierce enters this coming year already lying on the roster bubble. He's on the final year of his rookie contract for the 2025 season, and comes off a year in which he had his lowest numbers in terms of production.

Paired with Pierce's individual situation, the Texans drafting USC running back Woody Marks during the fourth round of this year's draft brought in an additional hurdle to surpass for Houston's 25-year-old back in April. Now, Chubb's signing only makes that route to making the 53-man cut that much more challenging.

Pierce could still have an outside shot of finding his way to the Texans roster for a fourth-straight season this year. But, it could be in both he and Houston's best interest to go different ways, and allow for the veteran to get a better, more expanded opportunity elsewhere.

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