It is time for the Houston Texans to retire the No. 23 to honor one of the greatest players in franchise history.
Watching Carlos Hyde running today, I couldn’t help but think of another No. 23 that used to carry the rock for the Houston Texans.
Bobby Feeno, anyone?
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Andre Johnson recently earned the distinction of being the first member of the Texans’ Ring of Honor. Johnson’s best running mate for a good part of his career was running back Arian Foster, and his name should be the next up for consideration, along with retiring his jersey number.
In 2009, the Houston Texans took a chance on an undrafted running back out of Tennessee, and his name was Arian Foster. Foster has moved on from football and is a musician under the previously mentioned alias Bobby Feeno.
If you haven’t had the chance to hear to any of his work, do yourself a favor and listen once you’re done reading here.
Foster’s career was derailed by injuries, but in his prime, he was an elite running back in the league and the best to ever put on a Texans uniform. From 2010-14, he earned four Pro Bowl selections and was an All-Pro in 2010.
The only time in that span that Foster didn’t earn hardware was in ’12 when his season was cut short due to injuries.
Despite his performance on the field, Foster had an interesting relationship with fans and media. Because of his injury issues, fans, and even Colin Cowherd, felt the need to express their displeasure with the running back.
The public’s opinion on Foster could cloud the memory of fans for just how great he really was on the field.
The perception of Foster by some who just want to “watch the game” could be seen as a distraction, especially in a “shut up and dribble” society. However, someone expressing thoughts you may not agree with shouldn’t make you invisible to the fact that they are incredible at their job.
Foster wasn’t just good — for a short time, he was great, and arguably the best all-around running back in the game. In his first season as the Texans starter, he led the league with 2,220 yards from scrimmage and 18 total touchdowns.
He had back-to-back seasons of over 600 receiving yards and twice led the league in rushing touchdowns. For his career, Foster averaged 81.5 rushing yards per game, which puts him at 15th in league history.
Foster’s peers also thought highly of his ability, as Foster was an NFL Network Top 100 player four times, as 2013 was his best ranking when he was voted as the eighth best player in the league.
The thing is that Foster may not care if he is ever given such an honor. He may be content with moving on to the next chapter of his life.
The Texans should take the steps to say thank you for the effort and production Foster put out on the field. Despite what you may think, all that Foster ever wanted to be was a good teammate.