With concern at the quarterback position, the Houston Texans were planning on leaning heavily on the run game to push them forward. As Ryan Mallett and Brian Hoyer battled things out, the production of Arian Foster was going to be critical in 2015. So when Foster went down with a hip injury there was natural panic in Houston. However, the star running back could be returning a lot sooner than originally expected.
Foster has been out since the start of training camp with a groin injury that was deemed severe and potentially season-ending for the running back. However, that is apparently no longer the case. According to ESPN's Jayson Braddock on 97.5 radio in Houston, Foster could be back somewhere between Week 2 and Week 4 of the regular season. That is a big change from original diagnosis which had Foster landing on short-term injured reserve. Instead, he is now back to running and working out.
Fantasy owners will be paying attention to the news on Foster considering he will lead the ground game once he returns after putting up 1,200 yards in four of the last five seasons. Initially, many owners wrote the back off for the year, but those that took a chance on him in later rounds could be rewarded much earlier than expected. However, the early return of Foster means that anyone who scooped up Alfred Blue or Chris Polk could be disappointed.
For the time being, Blue and Polk are the leading duo for the Texans and the team has a lot of confidence in the pair. Blue told the media that he is ready to step up and let this be his time to shine for the team moving forward.
"I try to stay humble but at the same time you want to own it," said Blue, via Nola.com. "I always say act like you been there before, like you've been doing this. So that is mindset I try to go into it with. You've been playing football all of your life, something you've done all of your life so you just go out there and have confidence in yourself, go out there and play fast and take what the coaches have given you into the game plan and just go out there and do what they ask you to do."
According to the Houston Chronicle, Blue is the leading man and that may or may not change upon Foster's return. The Texans are going to limit Foster a lot when he first gets back on the field which means Blue will stay in place. After Hoyer was named the starting quarterback, he immediately got to work with Blue as Jaelen Strong and DeAndre Hopkins will lead the receiving game.
