Arian Foster suffers groin injury at training camp

By Kevin Parvizi | Aug 4, 2015

The Houston Texans will use the same formula in 2015 that guided them to increased offensive success last season: use elite running back Arian Foster and star wideout DeAndre Hopkins to carry an offense that will be led by a game manager-type quarterback. Foster is one of the most important running backs in the league right now, and he’s the second-most important player on the Texans after J.J. Watt.

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It’s why any injury news relating to Foster is important, even if it’s a training camp injury that carries little immediate details. According to a source close to ESPN NFL Nation’s Tania Ganguli, Foster went down with a groin injury during practice yesterday, and it was the Texans first fully padded practice of training camp.

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There are no details regarding the severity of Foster’s injury, and this latest knock is a reminder (in case anybody needed reminding) that soft-tissue injuries will always be an issue for him. He missed half of the 2013 season with an injury and missed three games last year while being limited in others due to both hamstring and groin injuries.

Foster’s health is a huge key for the Texans, because if they want to be a darkhorse this season after making big improvements last year, then they can’t afford him to be out of the lineup. Few running backs in the league today are better at making defenders miss than Foster, who possesses excellent burst, vision, and inside-outside ability. He’s a complete back in every sense, as he also caught 38 passes last season.

Any missed time in training camp will give backs like Chris Polk, Alfred Blue, Jonathan Grimes, and bruising rookie Kenny Hilliard. Of those backs, Blue and Polk would figure to play the biggest roles in a 1-2 punch, should Foster miss any more regular season time.

This groin injury may not be significant in itself, but the chances of aggravating the injury could be present. Foster is in the prime of his career and will be 29 when the season opens up, so he’ll continue to be productive even with plenty of wear-and-tear behind him.

But missed time seems like a near certainty for him, and the days of him racking up 300 carries in a season could be over for him. We’ll see if a new signing like Polk or a second-year player like Blue can step up behind Foster, so that the Texans can have some more confidence in their depths as a “next man up” proposition if/when Foster misses time this year.

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