Oct 13, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) rushes against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports
ESPN.com Houston Texans reporter Tania Ganguli brought a good point that I want to elaborate on some more about running back Arian Foster.
The Texans reporter for ESPN wrote the following in an article this week:
"“It’s great that Foster is feeling well, having had back surgery in November. At this point, that’s obviously better than the alternative. But the real test of his health will come much later.”"
I have to agree with her assessment, because let’s face it, the health of Foster in 2014 will most likely determine the path of the improvement of an offense that struggled a lot last season.
Foster isn’t going to say if he’s feeling bad, and I don’t blame him. In fact, he could be feeling great right now in April, but I want to see how he hold up once he enters the physical grind of an NFL season.
Remember, last year he didn’t play in the preseason, and for the regular season, he made it to around the halfway point when sharing time with former Texans running back Ben Tate but ended up missing the latter half of the season with a back injury that eventually needed surgery.
In the eight games he played in, Foster finished with 542 yards on the ground and was averaging 4.5 yards per carry. He had one touchdown, and his longest carry went for 23 yards.
His body has a lot of wear and tear on it, as he has 1,131 carries in five seasons as an undrafted player out of Tennessee, and coming off not only the back injury, but hamstring issues last season, I just wonder how long Foster can hold up with the Texans.
Am I wrong to worry about if Foster’s health can hold up this upcoming season? I would like to see Foster dominate the rushing attack with 16 regular-season games for Houston in 2014, but I can’t help but wonder if he can hold up this season.
Follow the Toro Times on Twitter at @Texans_TT and like us on Facebook by clicking here.
Subscribe to the Fansided Toro Times Daily Newsletter for free by clicking here