Houston Texans: Moving On From Arian Foster
It may have been a surprise but it certainly wasn’t a shock.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Thursday morning that the Houston Texans have released running back Arian Foster, the franchise’s all-time rushing leader who has struggled to stay healthy on and off the last few years.
When available, the former University of Tennessee standout was one of the best offensive players in the league and certainly knew his way to the end zone.
This past season, Foster was limited to only four games and still managed to total three touchdowns, rushing for 163 yards and a score while totaling 22 receptions for 227 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
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The total numbers are certainly impressive. In seven seasons and 76 regular-season contests, the former undrafted free agent turned four-time Pro Bowler rushed for 6,472 yards (the most in team history) and 54 scores, added 249 catches for 2,268 yards and 14 touchdowns and finished with an impressive 8,740 yards from scrimmage while reaching the end zone 68 times in those 76 games.
Foster led the league in touchdowns scored in both 2010 (18) and 2012 (17), won an NFL rushing title and totaled the most yards from scrimmage in ’10 and racked up a league-high 351 rushing attempts in ’12. In a three-year stretch from 2010-12 (45 games), Foster scored an impressive 47 touchdowns.
Of course, minus the seven-year veteran, the Texans slipped from fifth in the league in rushing yards per game to 15th in the same category as Alfred Blue (team-high 698 yards), Chris Polk (334) and Jonathan Grimes (282) tried to fill the void – combining for 1,314 yards on the ground and four scores. Polk can hit the free-agent market next week and it will be interesting to see if the team brings him back.
The Texans surprised a lot of people this past season by overcoming a 2-5 start, playing their share of quarterbacks and managed to finish with a 9-7 record and the AFC South title.
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Don’t be surprised if this franchise brings in a veteran running back via free agency (Doug Martin, Matt Forte, etc.) and they adds one in this spring’s draft to fortify the position.
As for Foster, you get the feeling we haven’t heard the last from the talented running back and there are numerous teams around the league that could take advantage of his services…as long as those services remain healthy.