The Houston Texans have signed veteran running back Rex Burkhead to a one-year contract extension, according to multiple reports Friday.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed as Burkhead, in his ninth NFL season, had been playing this season on a one-year, $1.5 million deal signed in June.
The 31-year-old Burkhead has set career highs this season with 110 carries, 403 rushing yards and 132 offensive touches. He owns three rushing touchdowns for the third consecutive season while starting in four of his 15 games played this season.
His four starts this season ties his career high, previously set in 2018 with the New England Patriots.
Burkhead carried the ball only seven times for the Texans as they headed into their Week 10 bye at 1-8, but he has since become the starter in the backfield and provided a stable ground presence for Houston.
Since Week 11, Burkhead has carried the ball 103 times (seventh-most in the NFL in that span) for 374 yards — averages of 14.7 rush attempts and 53.4 yards per game as the Texans have gone 3-4 in that stretch.
That included Burkhead’s monster performance in a Week 16 upset over the Los Angeles Chargers, when he rumbled 22 times for a career-high 149 yards and two scores.
For his career Burkhead owns 450 carries for 1,804 yards and 17 touchdowns while adding 152 receptions, 1,288 yards and eight scoring catches in 98 games (13 starts). After the Nebraska product was originally drafted by Cincinnati in the sixth round in 2013, he spent four seasons with the Bengals (2013-16) until playing four campaigns with the Patriots (2017-20), with whom he appeared in two Super Bowls while winning a championship in 2017.
–Field Level Media
