Rex Burkhead has never been the feature back in any of the backfields that have deployed him during his previous nine NFL seasons. However, the Houston Texans have a high opinion of the former Nebraska product.
Burkhead finished the 2021 campaign with 122 carries for 427 yards and three touchdowns. Houston signed Burkhead to a contract extension near the end of the season that will keep him with the club through 2022.
Although the former Cincinnati Bengals 2013 sixth-round running back seems to be a natural candidate for usurpation — whether by reclamation project Marlon Mack or fourth-round rookie Dameon Pierce — the Texans nevertheless kept him around.
