Is Arian Foster a Fit for the Colts?

With the New England Patriots reportedly showing “preliminary interest” in former Houston Texans running back Arian Foster, it begs the question of whether the Indianapolis Colts should too.

The 29 year old running back is coming off another season that was cut short by injury, as Foster suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. As a result, Foster rushed for just 163 total rushing yards on 63 carries (2.6 ypc avg) and a touchdown in 4 games.

It was nothing new for Foster, who’s missed 23 of his last 40 games over the past three seasons.

After his offseason release, Foster effectively finished his Texans career with 1,454 carries for 6,472 rushing yards and 54 rushing touchdowns. He’s currently the franchise’s all-time leading rusher in all three categories.

Not to mention, he was a 1x 1st-Team All-Pro, 1x 2nd-Team All-Pro, 4x Pro Bowler, 2x NFL Rushing Touchdowns Leader, and 1x NFL Rushing Champion while in Houston.

Of course, Foster was always a “Colts killer”, as the 7-year veteran has rushed for 1,001 career rushing yards on 179 carries (5.59 ypc avg) and 8 rushing touchdowns against Indianapolis in only 9 career games.

Foster’s biggest statistical game of his career actually came on September 12, 2010, when he rushed for 231 rushing yards and 3 rushing touchdowns on 33 carries (7.0 ypc avg) against the Colts in that season’s regular season opener en route to a 34-24 Texans win.

The Colts have learned the hard way though after signing former Houston Texans wide receiver great Andre Johnson last season that past success doesn’t always translate to future production regarding a veteran player and a new team.

With 33 year old Frank Gore already in the fold, does the team want to get even older in their backfield–especially with an aging player coming off a significant injury? 

That being asked, the team doesn’t exactly have a ton of proven depth behind Frank Gore, as the team has former Seattle Seahawks castoff Robert Turbin and a number of other younger running backs.

A list that includes promising 2nd-year running back Tyler Varga, who’s rookie season was ended prematurely with his own season-ending injury.

Foster’s durability concerns likely prohibit him from remaining a “workhorse” running back anymore; however, he could still complement a team’s backfield by becoming an effective 3rd down or situational running back.

He’s always been highly regarded for his exceptional receiving and blocking skill-set, as the 6’1″, 227 pound running back has 2,268 career receiving yards on 249 career receptions, as well as 14 receiving touchdowns.

In that regard, Foster could theoretically complement Gore as a 3rd down running back. He could arguably become a rich man’s Ahmad Bradshaw–with his own injury concerns alike but ultimately a higher ceiling for production.

If the price is right, and it’s an incentive laden deal, Foster could be a fit for the Colts.

It also helps his cause that the Colts are switching to more of a zone-blocking scheme under new offensive line coach Joe Philbin, which had been popularized by former Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak with Foster during their time together with the Texans.

That being said, the Colts already appear to be very high on undrafted free agent running back Josh Ferguson out of Illinois, who was one our top 5 UDFA’s to watch for.

The Colts are hoping that the 5’10”, 200 pound running back can provide some shiftiness and electricity to their backfield behind Gore–drawing comparisons to Darren Sproles:

"“As the Colts shuffled the ball carriers behind Frank Gore this offseason, they brought up the idea of acquiring a shiftier back—one that can impact the game in a multitude of ways,” writes Colts.com’s Kevin Bowen. “Josh Ferguson heard this pitch, too.”“During the draft process, Colts offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski (an assistant coach with those Sproles’ teams in San Diego) spoke to (Josh) Ferguson about how he could fit into the Colts’ offense.”“When it was time for undrafted free agents to be signed, the Colts pounced on Ferguson.”“‘That was pretty encouraging,’ Ferguson says of hearing the Sproles-type pitch from Chud.”"

However, should Ferguson falter or fail to impress early on, the Colts could do much worse than signing Foster as an insurance policy all things considered.

Yes, the Colts need to get younger–particularly in the backfield and adding a veteran running back rehabilitating from a torn Achilles isn’t generally a recipe for success.

However, Foster’s unique receiving and blocking skill-set could theoretically help the Colts and make Andrew Luck‘s life easier in the passing game–much like Bradshaw always did before suffering season-ending injuries.

Nevertheless, the Colts aren’t desperate to sign Foster or any other veteran running back at this juncture for that matter.

The team likely wants to see what they have first with their young running backs before committing any additional resources to a veteran running back–especially one whose best football is already behind them and with a littered injury history such as Foster.

That’s not to say that Foster couldn’t help the team though down the road.