The Houston Texans will be without veteran running back David Montgomery for at least one more game–– per head coach DeMeco Ryans.

According to Ryans after the Texans' first practice of the week before facing the LA Chargers, Montgomery has already been ruled out for this weekend as he continues to rehab from his lingering groin injury he's been working back from since Week 5.

DeMeco Ryans said RB David Montgomery has made some progress but added that he'll be out on Sunday vs. the Chargers.

— Jonathan M Alexander (@jonmalexander) November 4, 2026

Montgomery will continue to be listed as week-to-week, but there's still no exact date to circle just yet for when the Texans' lead running back will return to the lineup. 

And with that mysterious timeline in mind, perhaps there's a case to be made for the Texans to go out and trade for another running back before the NFL trade deadline arrives early next week.

Should the Texans Trade for Another Running Back?

Now, it wasn't too long ago when the Texans made their initial trade to bring Montgomery into the building in the first place.

Houston sent multiple day three draft picks and Juice Scruggs to the Detroit Lions earlier this offseason to add Montgomery as a one-two punch for Woody Marks, and hope to elevate this lackluster rushing attack for their 2026 campaign.

But as we now arrive to the halfway point of the Texans' 2026 season, those improvements in the run game haven't quite come to fruition as expected.

While C.J. Stroud has helped lead the way in the passing game for positive strides, Houston ranks 29th in the NFL for total rushing yards (593) and yards per attempt (3.6) through their first seven games.

When Montgomery has been on the field for the Texans, he's been largely inefficient and ineffective. He's averaging just 2.7 yards per carry and less than 30 yards on the ground per game.

Marks has managed to be a bright spot in the Texans' ground game. But otherwise, the rushing production could certainly use a facelift heading into the second half of the season, as well as a healthy counterpart for Marks to lean on if Montgomery is sidelined longer than expected.

Who Could Texans Target in a Potential Trade?

The Texans have a couple of different approaches to take here when it comes to improving their running back room at the deadline.

On one hand, Houston could take a massive swing at the position to push the chips in for this season. But that might not be a super realistic result to expect.

Jonathan Taylor might be too hard to pry away from the Texans' AFC South rivals, the Indianapolis Colts, and the Philadelphia Eagles have already made it clear to Saquon Barkley that he won't be traded at the deadline. 

Or, the Texans can take a different approach: add a depth piece at a lower cost who can work alongside Marks, and Montgomery whenever he's back to 100%.

That route seems like a much more favorable bet to see the Texans consider. As to which running backs fall into that bucket? Guys like TreVeyon Henderson, Devin Singletary and Tony Pollard have all seen their names in some lingering trade rumors in the past several days, and could give Houston some targets to keep an eye on.

However, at the very least, running back should be a position of need on the Texans' radar from now up until next week's trade deadline.

This is one of the final moments of the season in which the front office can go out to add an immediate upgrade to their roster before taking on the second half of their schedule (and the postseason), and being without a stable ground game will only hurt the Texans' offense long-term.

Adding one more reliable ball carrier into the room could add some much-needed security and stability on the ground, while also providing a backup plan in case Montgomery is at all limited after recovering from his lengthy groin injury absence.