Dameon Pierce

Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans is enthused to see the new backfield tandem of Dameon Pierce and Devin Singletary.

Signing provides RB depth, but could hurt Dameon Pierce s fantasy value.

The Texans and RB Devin Singletary have agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth up to a reported $3.75 million. The former Bill will immediately walk into a backfield previously devoid of depth behind the incumbent RB Dameon Pierce. From a fantasy perspective, the biggest fallout here is how Singletary's mere presence alone cuts into Pierce's value. Singletary has exceeded 200+ touches in each of the last two seasons and logged three-consecutive years of 50+ targets as a pass-catcher. This spells bad news for Pierce, a player who finished 2022 as the RB27 in PPR scoring on the heels of 250 touches through 13 games prior to a season-ending ankle injury. Simply put, Pierce's effectiveness as a fantasy asset was heavily tied to his high volume, and now, that's not looking likely to work in his favor in 2023. A backfield split on a lower-tier NFL offense likely means both Pierce and Singletary will cannibalize each other into RB3/flex range at best. Perhaps news out of training camp over the summer will give us a greater feel for the situation, but this is messy no matter how you slice it.