Houston Texans running back Arian Foster is out for the season with a torn Achilles, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Foster left the game Sunday against the Miami Dolphins in the fourth quarter when he went down without contact, grabbing his lower leg. Eventually, the medical staff carted him off the sideline after he limped off the field.
Arian Foster out for season with torn Achilles, per report
Foster’s season is over after he sustained the non-contact injury against the Dolphins.
Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Foster had 18 carries for 59 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s game before going down with the injury.
Foster is the team’s starting running back, but was playing in just his fourth game this season as he missed the first three weeks due to injury. He has 45 carries for 104 yards on the season, a per-carry average of just 2.3 yards. The running back hasn’t looked like himself all season, though he’s caught 17 passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.
Last season, Foster had 1,246 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games with the Texans. Alfred Blue is listed as Foster's primary backup on the depth chart. Blue has 57 carries for 226 yards and a touchdown on the season.
It’s a hugely disappointing end for Foster’s season. The seventh-year running back has been excellent for the Texans over the years, but injuries have plagued him in almost every season. He’s only played in all 16 games twice in his career, when he had 1,616 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2010, and when he had 1,424 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2012.
Foster began his NFL career when he was signed by the Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He was released, signed to the practice squad and then eventually made it onto the active roster in November. He made his first start in January of that season, and didn’t relinquish the job for anything other than injury after that point.
In 2011, Foster dealt with hamstring injuries and played in just 13 games, and things got much worse in 2013, when a back injury limited him to just eight games. Last season, he also missed three games due to injury and this year hamstring injuries limited him in the team’s opening games.
One has to wonder if this is the last time we see Foster in a Texans uniform. The running back is 29 years old, and has a cap hit of almost $9 million this season. In 2016, his cap hit will be $9.3 million, and that’s the final year of his contract. The Texans could elect to go a different way at this point in his career.
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