Texans RB Dameon Pierce will not play in preseason opener

Dameon Pierce will not play in the Houston Texans preseason opener against the Chicago Bears in the NFL’s Hall of Fame Game.

Houston is resting its starters in the extra preseason contest, but Pierce’s status remained up in the air until the announcement of his inactivity. Pierce had a strong rookie campaign, rushing for 939 yards in 13 games.

He had a less successful sophomore season, eventually losing his starting role to current New York Giant Devin Singletary. Houston traded for former Pro Bowler Joe Mixon, who has been dealing with a minor quad injury throughout training camp.

Pierce has earned praise in camp for improving his decisiveness and strong offseason. His resting solidifies his status as the No. 2 running back behind Mixon.

Without Pierce on the field, Houston will have a running back rotation of Dare Ogunbowale, Cam Akers, Jawhar Jordan, British Brooks and J.J. Taylor. Ogunbowale was the lone back with on the active roster last year, while the rest were either practice squad members, signed or drafted this offseason.