The biggest news of training camp is always the loss of players to long-term, often season-ending injuries. The Houston Texans have just been removed of their most important player on offense, as Arian Foster picks up a groin injury that will keep him out for at least half the season.
The Texans will place Forster on short-term injured reserve, designated to return, it means he can’t practice until week 6 and can’t get on the field in a game until week 8. He’ll undergo surgery and in any case, it’s probably going to be a while before the Texans get to use Foster again.
No teams ran the ball as much as the Texans last season, and the team finished fifth in the league overall in running the ball. Bouncing back from back surgery, Foster had a fantastic season, rushing for 1246 yards and 8 touchdowns, landing him his fourth pro bowl selection.
Now it’ll be up to Alfred Blue (528 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Jonathan Grimes (153 yards), both runners who averaged less than four years per carry last season, to pick up the slack. The Texans are already bringing in players to fill in for Foster, but it’s going to be difficult getting production anywhere near his level from the remaining players on the market or from those promoted from within the team.
So now a team that has a big problem at quarterback (Ryan Mallett or Brian Hoyer, pick your poison) is without it’s number one playmaker on offense. The defense carried the Texans to a respectable finish last season, but their job just got a whole lot harder with the news of Foster’s injury.