Texans Reunite With Dare Ogunbowale: What It Means for Houston's RBs

The Houston Texans are bringing back a familiar face to their running back room heading into Week 4 of the season.

According to Jonathan M. Alexander of the Houston Chronicle, the Texans are signing running back Dare Ogunbowale from the Las Vegas Raiders to their 53-man roster.

The #Texans are signing RB Dare Ogunbowale from the Raiders' practice squad, per a source.
— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) September 29, 2026

Ogunbowale had been a noteworthy fixture within the Texans' depth chart at running back for the past four seasons, spanning from 2022 to 2025.

He's appeared in over 60 games with Houston as mostly a component on special teams, but has also been someone to record a handful of rushing stats as well. In his time with the Texans, Ogunbowale combined for 91 rushing attempts for 295 yards on the ground and three total touchdowns.

And now, after a brief stint with the Raiders––which came about as a result of Houston not re-signing him earlier this offseason––it seems that he's heading back to a familiar spot on the Texans roster, and perhaps provide this running back room with another dose of depth.

What Dare Ogunbowale's Signing Means for Texans

The move to bring in Ogunbowale is overall a minor move that won't impact much of the Texans' bottom line.

The running back depth chart won't change much at the top from where things stand now, and will be led out by the combination of David Montgomery and Woody Marks for a vast majority of the offensive snaps. Even British Brooks could be consistently head of Ogunbowale in the pecking order on a week-to-week basis.

However, the logic from Houston's perspective to reunite with their former veteran running back could be for a couple of reasons.

For one, there's a possibility somebody in the Texans' current running back room is hurt, and Houston is preparing for any chance of injury by signing on another familiar depth piece at the position who could plug in if necessary.

We won't know the injury status of Houston's players for Week 4 until after Wednesday's practice, yet it remains something to at least keep an eye on.

Dec 14, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale (33) recovers a fumble during the first quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Then, there's also the chance that the Texans just wanted to add more depth at running back, while also offering some upside on special teams.

Houston has been pretty lackluster when it comes to their run game and their special teams unit through three weeks as a whole, and Ogunbowale could be someone who can enter the locker room as a steadying force.

Ogunbowale was a team captain for the Texans last year, has been consistently praised by head coach DeMeco Ryans when he's been in the building, and over the last four seasons that he was in Houston, he combined for over 1,000 special teams snaps.

So even if he's not the most impactful offensive player in the Texans' running back room, and likely won't get a ton of carries for any stretch that he's back in Houston, he's clearly able to be an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to the little things: leadership, special teams contributions, and has a ton of experience at the NFL level.

As a result, Ogunbowale's back in the mix with a full roster spot, enters his fifth season stationed in Houston, and the Texans' running back room grows to four heading into Week 4 back at home against the Dallas Cowboys.

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