Arian Foster and Ben Tate practice, still dicey fantasy plays for Week 9

The Houston Texans backfield remains battered and bruised, although its two lead backs took steps toward being active on Sunday.

Lead back Arian Foster, who sat out Wednesday's practice with a hamstring injury, returned to action on Thursday. His backup, Ben Tate, practiced for the second straight day at a limited basis after sustaining four broken ribs during the team's last game versus the Kansas City Chiefs. Head Coach Gary Kubiak said on Wednesday that he expects both running backs to be game-time decisions.

Fantasy Spin: It appeared that the Texans running backs were going to have a juicy matchup versus the Colts for Week 9, but health concerns have quickly put a damper on that. The Colts are allowing 122 rushing yards per game, which is fourth-worst in the NFL, and Foster and Tate are not in a good position to capitalize on this.

Additionally, the Texans have a Sunday-night game, which does not give owners many options if they have either of the Texans backs inserted into the lineup and they wind up not playing. Because of this, both backs make for dicey flex plays at best, and nothing more during a week that has six teams on a bye. Should both not play, a likely committee approach between Ray Graham, Deji Karim or Dennis Johnson will be called upon.