Arian Foster is coming off a year in which he missed time with preseason injuries, looked a step slow when he returned, then got shut down by back surgery after eight games.
It was a disappointing, if not totally shocking development for a running back who had shouldered a massive workload for the Houston Texans in the three previous seasons.
On Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine, Texans general manager Rick Smith expressed optimism that Foster will be healthy and ready for 2014.
"He's doing well, he's working hard," Smith said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "He's in the building (at Reliant Stadium) and in the training room consistently.
"All the reports that I'm getting from (head trainer) Geoff (Kaplan) indicate to me that he's going to be fine."
The Texans' backfield will have a different look under new coach Bill O'Brien. Ben Tate is hitting free agency and has said that he doesn't expect to return to Houston.
With Foster coming off a season compromised by a significant injury, an offseason priority for the Texans will be finding a new complement in the backfield.
On the latest edition of the "Around The League Podcast," the guys speculate on big names who could be cut, then talk offseason forecasts for the Packers and Raiders.
