The Las Vegas Raiders have filled the massive gap behind star second-year running back, Ashton Jeanty.
The Raiders signed veteran running back Dare Ogunbowale on Thursday morning, as was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Ogunbowale has spent the past four seasons with the Houston Texans. While he only tallied 11 carries for 25 yards and one touchdown during the 2025 campaign, he has also been valuable as a pass-catching outlet from the backfield, as shown by the 10 catches and 76 receiving yards.
But his pedigree out of the backfield goes back to his rookie season in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He reeled in 35 of 46 targets for 286 yards. For his career, he has averaged nearly eight yards per catch out of the backfield.
One of the biggest questions heading into this offseason was who the Raiders would add as Jeanty’s backup. The second-year standout will undoubtedly get the vast majority of touches in Las Vegas’ backfield, but the Raiders front office still needed to some somebody to spell him during games, as well as find insurance in case he gets hurt.
Ogunbowale makes sense in this regard because he has a complementary skillset to Jeanty. Obunbowale can pass protect and receive some third down snaps when Jeanty needs a breather.
Las Vegas also has running backs Mike Washington Jr. and Dylan Laube on their roster. There will likely be a competition between these three throughout training camp about who will be Jeanty’s primary backup.
Ogunbowale went viral back in 2023 for filling in as a field goal kicker at a crucial point in the Texans’ season. He nailed a a 29-yard field goal in the game, which led to a Texans win.
