D’Onta Foreman’s status and Houston Texans running backs moving into offseason
By Jair Lopez
The Houston Texans are optimistic on D’Onta Foreman’s progress moving forward.
The Houston Texans are likely to be active this offseason in adding a running back through free agency, trade talks, or the 2019 NFL Draft. The Texans currently have Lamar Miller, D’Onta Foreman, Gregory Howell, and Josh Ferguson under contract for the 2019 season.
Miller is a solid rotational running back for the Texans, but head coach Bill O’Brien showed the preference to monitor his workload as the season progressed and it ended up paying dividends down the road. Miller earned his first trip to the Pro Bowl after having one of his best seasons since coming into the league in 2012.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported in the NFL combine interviews that coach O’Brien was optimistic of Foreman’s recovery of the Achilles injury that he suffered his rookie season.
Bill O'Brien on @D33_foreman 'That is a tough rehab, there were some ups and downs with the rehab. He was rusty. He's a good football player' said he believes cutting ability, speed still there
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 27, 2019
It’s feasible for Foreman to step in Blue’s role as the second ball carrier in the offense, but the Texans will not be relying on Foreman without a contingency plan in place to provide another running back to compete for playing time behind Miller.
Blue was the second option at running back and provided the Texans with a physical runner capable of burning time off the clock and wearing down defenses down the stretch of a game. Blue finished the 2018 season with 150 carries for 499 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.
He is an unrestricted free agent, but it’s yet to be seen if the Texans are willing to bring him back with the possibilities of finding an upgrade this offseason. The Texans also have Howell under contract in 2019; he was the third running back for the majority of last season.
Howell was claimed from the Miami Dolphins before the start of the regular season, he was utilized predominantly in special teams and finished second in the team with nine special team tackles.
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With a season under his belt, Howell could enter the competition for a role in the Texans offense moving forward. Meanwhile, Ferguson will also form part of the Texans 90 man roster after spending the majority of the 2018 season on the practice squad.