While a quarterback competition is one of the many highlights of the Houston Texans' training camp, injuries are becoming another role as the team prepares to lose a big playmaker for the foreseeable future. The run game was expected to play a big role in the Houston Texans' offense this upcoming season as Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer compete to start, but an injury to Arian Foster has the offense falling behind heading into the first preseason.
UPDATE: The Texans have signed Pierre Thomas.
According to Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com, Foster will undergo surgery after suffering a groin injury in the team's first practice with pads on. Team sources are reporting the injury will cause Foster to miss the start of the season as his timetable for return is not yet known. The running back finished sixth last year with 1,246 yards even while missing three games due to other various injuries.
The Texans did their best to load up on running backs in the offseason. The team has Alfred Blue who is seeing first-team reps in training camp working alongside Foster, Jonathan Grimes, Chris Polk and Kenny Hilliard on the roster who will now get their chance to prove themselves with the starter out. According to the Houston Chronicle, general manager Rick Smith is expected to eye free agent options at least for help during training camp.
There are several options on the market for the Texans to eye should they feel Foster's injury is more severe than expected. Of course the biggest name is Ray Rice who ESPN is reporting is calling teams personally about getting a contract in camp. The Texans will likely not bite on a deal for Rice due to the media headache. The last thing HBO's Hard Knocks need is Rice coming into camp. Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Ben Tate and Pierre Thomas have all been floating around the open market and would sign for cheap for the Texans.
The loss of Foster is not ideal while a quarterback competition is going on. Head coach Bill O'Brien told the Chronicle that the running back group was very competitive and its consistency would likely be the most important aspect of the offense. Losing Foster for any period of time hurts that effort. O'Brien is not ready to make a decision between Hoyer and Mallett as he is seeing plenty of positives from both players.
"I don't get into that," O'Brien said, via the Chronicle. "I know what both guys do in the building. I take a lot of pride in both those guys. I read (and) I understand what is written. Sometimes it (ticks) me off to be honest with you. These are two good quarterbacks that have played in this league. They work very hard. They're out here busting their ass every day to get better. I think the city of Houston should be proud of them. I think the media should understand that these guys can play. They have to do it. Look, if they don't do it, they don't do it, but I have a lot of faith in those guys."