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Ben Arthur
AFC South Reporter
The Houston Texans have a need at running back. And Saquon Barkley is set to become an unrestricted free agent.
Are the two sides a match?
The 27-year-old Barkley was not franchise-tagged by the New York Giants by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline, paving the way for the two-time Pro Bowler to hit the market for the first time after six NFL seasons. The legal tampering window for free agency begins Monday at noon ET.
Reports have linked Barkley to Houston, which is the betting favorite to land the former No. 2 overall pick.
Of course, the run game was a glaring weakness for the Texans last season, when they tied for 22nd with 96.9 rushing yards per game and tied for 28th with 3.7 yards per carry. Quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had arguably the best season for a rookie signal-caller in league history, often had the weight of the offense on his shoulders.
Impending free agent Devin Singletary, who played in Houston on a one-year deal, impressed with a career-high 898 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 216 carries. He was one of the NFL’s most effective tailbacks in the second half of 2023 — second to Christian McCaffrey with 745 rushing yards from Weeks 8-18, according to Next Gen Stats. But Dameon Pierce, Houston’s 2022 fourth-round pick, struggled mightily after a promising rookie campaign. He had just 426 rushing yards on 145 carries (2.9 yards per carry). Singletary took his starting job the second half of the season.
The Texans never had the 1-2 punch at running back they hoped for entering last season, and the run game overall was far too inconsistent. They failed to reach 90 rushing yards in 11 of their 17 regular-season games.
Then in the postseason, they had just 38 rushing yards in their divisional-round loss to the Ravens.
“The running game will be significant for us to improve upon,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said at his end-of-season press conference in January….
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/would-free-agent-rb-saquon-barkley-be-missing-piece-for-c-j-stroud-texans
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Publish date : 2024-03-05 23:59:25
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