Arian Foster Officially Released
By Josh McSwain
After seven seasons, the Texans have parted ways with the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
It’s a well known fact that the shelf life of an NFL running back is not long anymore. They say that 30 is the cutoff point for productivity among NFL backs. While there have been some exceptions to this, it has rang true for far too many of the league’s best over the last few years. So it should be no surprise that the news of Foster’s release came today.
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“There are not many players I respect more than Arian Foster,” Texans general manager Rick Smith said in a statement. “He maximized his opportunity as an undrafted college free agent and worked to become the most productive back in franchise history, and one of the most complete backs in the NFL during his tenure with the Texans.”
After rushing for almost 1,200 yards during his junior year at Tennessee, Foster was supposed to be one of the most highly regarded backs coming into the 2009 draft. But an injury his senior year dropped him all the way to being an undrafted free agent. During his time in Houston he ran for 54 touchdowns and 6,472 yards while adding 14 receiving touchdowns on 249 receptions. But injuries limited him to 76 games in seven seasons, just under 11 games per year. He had not played a full 16 games since 2012, with 2010 being the only other year he played every game.
After coming onto the Texans roster late in the 2009 season he burst onto the scene in the season opener in 2010 when he ran for 231 yards in a win over the Colts. He won the rushing title that year and made the first of his four Pro Bowls that season.
Foster was due $6.5 million this coming season, so for an older and injury prone back the time had come to part ways. Thank you Arian for all you gave this franchise and fare thee well in whatever you do next.