This Has MASSIVE Implications For Houston

David Montgomery was back on the practice field today for the Texans in over a month. He had a groin injury on October 11th against the Tennessee Titans, and since then he's missed three straight games. That should be the best news that Houston's heard all week. But at that same practice, the back who took his spot was nowhere to be seen. Woody Marks was limited at practice yesterday with a knee injury, and today reporters said they didn't spot him at all. The Houston Chronicle say that if neither can go this week, the likely starter in Cleveland is Emery Demarcado, a waiver claim who ran six times this past week for 16 yards. But Houston isn't the only team limping into this Sunday's game. Cleveland's top receiver hasn't practiced all week. And their starting quarterback just came off a concussion protocol. So when these two teams meet up this Sunday, are the injuries going to decide who wins? Montgomery wasn't all the way back on Thursday. Aaron Wilson reported he was dressed out but working off to the side. And yesterday, he was at practice but not dressed. And Wednesday's report had him down as did not practice. And head coach DeMeco Ryans has been very careful with his wording on this one. Today, he said we're encouraged by the progress so far. We'll see when he's able to get back on the field. And that definitely isn't a head coach telling you that a running back is for sure going to play this Sunday. And the week before the Chargers game, he wasn't even at the open part of practice. And he sat that game out. On Monday, DeMeco Ryans said he hoped Montgomery would practice this week or next. So the first half of that has already happened. Whether one practice day off to the side will determine whether or not David Montgomery plays this Sunday is not something anyone in the Houston organization is promising. Houston didn't trade for him in March to wait. It sent an offensive lineman Juice Gruggs, a 2026 fourth round pick, and a seventh round pick to Detroit to get him. In his last season with the Lions back in 2025, he ran for 716 yards and eight touchdowns in 17 games. His first five games in Houston, Houston, however, looked nothing like that. 138 rushing yards on 52 carries. Just about 2.7 yards a carry, and both of his rushing touchdowns this season came in week one against Buffalo. Then at Tennessee, he had five carries for 11 yards before he walked off in the second quarter, and he hasn't been on the field since. Houston ended up winning that game 26-3, but it lost its lead back in the process. And even when David Montgomery comes back, do not expect a full workload right away. When D'Amico Ryans was asked about Montgomery's workload, his answer was, we'll figure it out when we get him back. So even a healthy David Montgomery could not fix this run game, and the guy who filled in for him over the past month is now out with left knee soreness. Woody Marks has been the lead back in Houston since David Montgomery went down in Tennessee, and the numbers show it. In his first three games this season, Mark averaged 22 rushing yards a game. Over his last five, he's been averaging 55. He now leads the entire Houston team in rushing yards with 341 on 95 carries, which is about 3.6 yards a carry, which is still nothing insane, but that still is almost a full yard better than David Montgomery, who's sitting at 2.7. And his best day came in the last win against the Chargers, where he had 18 carries for 70 yards. That's a season high for Woody Marks, and it still wasn't enough to crack 100 yards. The last Texans running back to carry an offense for real was Joe Mixon back in 2024, when he had four straight games with over 100 yards from week six to nine. So Woody Marks hasn't been phenomenal by any means, but he's been steady. And steady was just enough based on how well C.J. Stroud's been playing. In his four-game stretch as the lead back, Marks has 75 touches for 321 yards from scrimmage. And Houston was 0-4 the day Montgomery got hurt. Counting that afternoon against Tennessee, they're now 3-1 since that happened. And Woody Marks didn't do it alone. Stroud threw one touchdown pass a game in the first three games, and since then, he's been averaging about 2.6 over the past five. So the run game just has to be steady whenever our quarterback is playing like this. And with C.J. Stroud third on this team in rushing yards with 100, only 38 behind David Montgomery, that says a lot about this backfield. Now Woody Marks is the question mark. He was limited in yesterday's practice with what the team called knee discomfort, and he didn't finish that practice at all. And today, nobody saw him at the open part of practice. And the word around the building was, wait and see. And offensive coordinator Nick Haley said, they're giving them opportunities, monitoring the reps with both backs. And they're building it through the week. And if both backs miss this weekend against Cleveland, Houston is going to walk into that game with a waiver claim as their starting running back. That's Demarcado. And his 2.7 yards a carry last week is the same as David Montgomery's before he got hurt. The best case this Sunday is both Woody Marks and David Montgomery playing in splitting snaps. The worst case scenario, neither of them playing and we have to run a waiver wire running back as the RB1. And the offensive line that's supposed to be protecting those backs has had problems of its own this week because rookie guard Kalen Rutledge has a stinger in his neck and shoulder and he didn't practice yesterday or today. And D'Amico Ryan says they'll see how he progresses throughout the week. And if Rutledge can't go, the top backup is Wyatt Taylor. Who was limited himself on practice this Wednesday with an illness. So Taylor going back to his former team this Sunday to play them would be a story in itself. Because he's an all-pro former Browns player. And on defense, linebacker Aziz Alshire missed a second straight practice today. The report lists groin injury and a personal reason. So this Sunday isn't just about health. And tight end Brevin Jordan didn't practice yesterday as well. With finger and foot injuries. Now time for the good news. And there's a lot of it. Safety Reed Blankenship, cornerback Jalen Smith, and linebacker Jake Hummel all came back to practice yesterday. Reed Blankenship had a concussion and a hand injury. Smith was dealing with a hamstring injury, and Hummel was working through a groin surgery. And Tank Dell was on the injury report too, listed with limited hands and shoulder issues. But Nick Haley shut that down fast, saying no restrictions with Tank. And receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was limited Wednesday with a hamstring injury. One more name to check for Friday. Tackle Blake Fisher, and defensive tackle Tommy Doglin. Tackle Blake Fischer and defensive tackle Tommy Dogaya made the report too, and both practice in full. So the biggest issues for Houston falls on their running back room and their left guard position. Cleveland's list is shorter, but the players missing are ones that can decide the game. The Browns put 11 players on Wednesday's injury report, and four of them didn't practice at all. The biggest name is rookie receiver Denzel Boston, who leads Cleveland with 507 receiving yards. He has 32 catches and three touchdowns to go along with that, and he missed practice on Wednesday and today with a toe injury. Todd Monken said it was a little toe issue, and he said he expects Boston to be back on Thursday, but he wasn't. So when a coach says that a player will return to practice on Thursday, and he doesn't end up returning, it's definitely something to watch for this weekend. And the back end is thin as well. Safety Ronnie Hickman is in the concussion protocol and hasn't practiced this week. And for Cleveland, that's a bad week to be short on a safety, especially after what CJ Stroud did to that Los Angeles defense last week. He went 21 of 35 for 384 passing yards and 5 touchdowns. And he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. In franchise history, the Texans only have 7 regular season games with 5 touchdown passes or more. And Stroud owns 2 of them. Up front, Cleveland got its center back. Elk Tong Jenkins sat out on Wednesday with a knee injury, but returned today. Two more of their offensive linemen, Titus Howard and Austin Barber, were limited with a calf and knee injury. Tight end Harold Franklin Jr. was limited with a growing injury, and fullback Michael Burton hasn't practiced at all this week with a calf injury. On their defensive line, Malik Collins was limited with an elbow injury. Kale Gash and Mason Graham disruptive, as they have 3.5 sacks and 4 sacks on the season. Cornerback Denzel Ward was limited with a quad, and linebacker Carson Swejinger and Quincy Williams were limited as well. That's a lot of defensive players for Cleveland that are coming into this game not 100%. Then there's the quarterback Deshaun Watson. Deshaun Watson missed one game in concussion protocol and he has no injury designation this week. Shutter's standards started in place for him and threw for 297 passing yards and two touchdowns, and a 23-22 loss in overtime against New Orleans. Munkin said Wednesday, I anticipate him being our starter. And Watson runs it too. His 217 rushing yards are second on the Browns. So Watson is likely back this Sunday, but the best receiver on his team might not be. Cleveland has lost two straight, 27-6 at Pittsburgh, And that overtime game in New Orleans. But at home, it's different. They're 3-0 and every one of the wins came by exactly three points. Houston comes in favored by 4.5 on the road. Over his last five games, Stroud has thrown 13 touchdown passes and only two interceptions. And there's a lot riding on it for Houston. At 3-5, the Texans are three games behind Jacksonville in the AFC South. A loss in Cleveland puts them at 3-6, with nine of their 17 games gone. A win makes it 4-5. And they can win four out of their last five games. Tomorrow's report brings out the game designations. And that's when we can find out who actually plays. My call, Houston wins this game even if their running backs miss. The reason why? CJ Stroud has been balling lately. 13 touchdowns and two interceptions in his last five games, with a secondary that's already beat up. The doubt? Rutledge is going to miss this game, and that defensive line for Cleveland is still something very scary. And with David Montgomery only practicing one time this week off to the side, I say he probably won't be back for at least another week. The two players we should be looking at from the injury report to return are Woody Marks and Boston. So who carries the ball for Houston this Sunday? Is it Woody Marks? Is it David Montgomery? Or is it somebody else? Let me know what you think in the comments. And if you want the entire story between Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans, click the video on your screen right now.