Arian Foster Injury: Bill O’Brien expects RB to play

Houston Texans star running back Arian Foster has been the second-most impressive back in the league behind Dallas Cowboys workhorse DeMarco Murray, though Foster doesn’t have the benefit of rushing behind arguably the NFL’s best offensive line. Foster has missed some time this season with nagging injuries and did not face off against the Cincinnati Bengals this past week, but he has always been expected to make his return to the starting lineup for this week’s rivalry game against the lowly Tennessee Titans.

According to ESPN NFL Nation’s Tania Ganguli, head coach Bill O’Brien stated that he expects Foster to play against the Titans this week, and he even said this a second time for good measure. O’Brien praised Foster for the progress he has made in practice, so, at this point, it seems like he will be out there, barring a setback. Foster is dealing with a groin injury, so a setback isn’t exactly inconceivable.

Foster has paced the Texans offense with 822 rushing yards on just 161 carries, yielding an average of 5.1 yards per carry. He has seven touchdowns, six 100-yard rushing performances, and an average of just over 102 yards per game. Foster is a man on a mission, and he would tear up the Titans front seven if he is able to play; you can only imagine how efficient he would be if he weren’t dealing with nagging injuries here-and-there.