Dameon Pierce

Dameon Pierce (hamstring) returned to practice Friday.

Friday marks Pierce’s first practice in nearly three weeks. The veteran running back was rumored to be back by week four, but that fell through, leaving the Texans to go with Cam Akers and Dare Ogunbowale as their top two backs. It seems unlikely Pierce will play with just one practice under his belt, but with Joe Mixon (ankle) already ruled out for Week 5, there’s added incentive to get him on the field if he can go. We’ll see what kind of game status Pierce carries heading into the weekend, but it wouldn’t be suprising if it was the Akers/Ogunbowale show again this week.