Houston Texans Rule Arian Foster Out Against Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster has been ruled out against the Cleveland Browns.

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Life just became a lot more difficult for the Houston Texans in their Sunday matchup against the streaking Cleveland Browns.

In addition to starting quarterback Ryan Mallett who will be making his first career start, the Houston Texans will have to deal with the loss of franchise running back Arian Foster.

There was hope the running back would be able to play this weekend though after he continued to miss practice head coach Bill O’Brien ruled the Pro Bowl talent out with a groin injury.

Arian Foster had previously been deemed “questionable” and O’Brien stated that he would likely be a game-time decision, though the fact he’s already been ruled out a day before the tilt seems to suggest Foster’s injury might be a bit more serious than anticipated.

Presumably taking his place and being given the starting nod will be backup running back Alfred Blue who hasn’t exactly inspired in his previous stop-gap stints for Foster. Blue currently has 68 carries for 234 yards this year and is coming off a average showing last week in place of Foster.

The bigger issue here might be how much the injury will impact the status of Arian Foster moving forward. At 4-5 the Houston Texans are just two games behind the Indianapolis Colts and shockingly are still in the thick of the playoff race. How much longer that will last starting an inexperienced quarterback and having Foster sidelined remains to be seen, though they’d obviously like to get their star running back quickly as possible.

Foster has a history of injury issues, many of which have proven to linger, so hopefully this isn’t such a case and he’ll be back on the field next week.

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