Houston Texans will rotate Arian Foster and Ben Tate at running back
By Mike Dyce
Houston Texans running back Arian Foster is one of the best in the league. The Texans have used him like a workhorse the past few years and that has led to Foster getting banged up. In an effort to keep him healthy throughout the entire NFL season they plan to have running back Ben Tate shoulder some of his carries and rotate with him.
“We’re going to rotate,” Kubiak said Saturday at Reliant Stadium. “First off, I think Arian’s condition is excellent. His practice this week has been just excellent. He’s a worker — that’s why he plays well — and I’ve been impressed by how he’s held up. But I think it’s early in the season; I don’t know how warm it’s going to be up there. But I think we’re smart to play them both and obviously we’ll see how Arian holds up from that standpoint. But I don’t think we’re looking at the majority load that we maybe look at when he’s rolling.”
Foster carried the ball a league high 351 times last season. Tate is capable of splitting the carries and being productive though. In 2011 he rushed for 942 yards carrying the ball 5.4 yards per carry. Last season he was limited to 65 rushes but as the 2013 season looms, Tate says he is ready for the challenge.
“I’ve been working hard all year. To finally get an opportunity like this, it’s great,” Tate said. “I’ll just go out there and capitalize on it and play a great game.”
Tate and Foster have a good relationship as well, at least according to Tate.
“We have a pretty good relationship. If anything, (playing together) strengthened our relationship. We hang out off the field … and he was still there to help me out when he wasn’t playing.”