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It’s football season, which means Arian Foster is battling an injury.
Just a couple days into training camp, the Houston Texans star running back, who has missed nine games in the last two seasons, left the field after suffering a groin injury. ESPN’s Tania Ganguli first reported the potentially devastating news for Houston:
According to Houston radio host Jayson Braddock, and later confirmed by Ganguli, the injury may require surgery:
The Houston Chronicle’s John McClain reported Foster is likely to go to the short-term IR, meaning he’ll miss at least half the season:
Foster probably headed to short term injured reserve, meaning he can practice after week 6 and be activated after week 8.
In both real and fantasy life, injuries breed opportunities. But when it comes to the Texans’ depth chart, there’s no clear backup behind Foster. In all likelihood, should Foster miss a chunk of time, it’s going to be a committee of Chris Polk, Alfred Blue and Jonathan Grimes.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported, Blue received most of the touches in Foster’s absence during practice:
Texans’ RB Alfred Blue was carted off field Monday. But he had leg cramps for taking all the reps that Arian Foster couldn’t. Blue is fine.
Blue may be the most popular of the replacement options, but he’s also going to be the most expensive on draft day. For a player who averaged 3.1 yards per carry and struggled with pass protection last season, he may not be worth it. Instead, think about using a late-round selection on Polk.
The 25-year-old Washington product averaged 4.7 yards per carry in three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, showing glimpses of potential as both a running back and a returner. The powerful back was also used often at the goal line late last season, so the potential for touchdowns increases his value.
Chris Polk > Alfred Blue, imo.
Ultimately, this is a situation that you want to approach with caution, because it’s going to be difficult to predict how the distribution of touches will play out. But while Blue is going to get the first crack at carries if Foster is sidelined, Polk makes for an intriguing low-risk gamble on draft day.
