The Houston Texans placed fullback British Brooks on injured reserve Friday with a hamstring injury, sidelining a player who had carved out a role on special teams and as a short-yardage complement in the backfield.
The move, first reported by NFL insider Aaron Wilson, means Brooks will miss at least four games under league rules for injured reserve.
Brooks, 26, is in his third season with Houston after signing as an undrafted free agent out of North Carolina in 2024. He is in the final year of a three-year rookie deal worth $2.845 million and is scheduled to earn a base salary of $1.075 million this season.
After the year, he will be a restricted free agent, so the timing of the injury lands in a contract season when even a reserve is trying to show he still belongs on a roster.
His path to that roster was never a straight line. Brooks spent six seasons with the Tar Heels, appearing in more than 50 games and finishing with 848 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while also contributing on special teams.
He made Houston’s initial 53-man roster as a rookie, played in five games, then landed on injured reserve.
In 2025, he was more established, appearing in 15 games with two starts, carrying 17 times for 78 yards and doing most of his work on coverage units.
This season had already been interrupted before the hamstring. Brooks broke his hand in training camp in August and missed roughly a month.
He returned and appeared in the Texans’ first three games, recording one tackle on special teams, before the hamstring became a problem.
Reports indicated he sat out practice late in the week leading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. Houston placed him on reserve/injured rather than trying to get him through the weekend.
The absence thins an already reduced running-back room. Practice-squad rookie Noah Whittington went on injured reserve this week with a quad injury, and the Texans recently brought back former special-teams captain Dare Ogunbowale.
David Montgomery and Woody Marks remain the primary options on offense. Brooks has never been a featured ball carrier — he has 18 career rushes for 80 yards — but fullbacks who can block and play on kick and punt coverage are hard to replace in a single week.
Because of the four-game minimum and Houston’s Week 8 bye, Brooks is not eligible to return until Week 9, when the Texans visit the Los Angeles Chargers.
Until then, the club will lean on the rest of the backfield and on Ogunbowale to cover the snaps Brooks had been taking.
