Arian Foster Suffers Groin Injury In Practice, Will Miss Early Part Of 2015 Season

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster suffered a groin injury during the team’s practice and will need to undergo surgery, reports ESPN. The athlete will be likely out of the first few games of the 2015 NFL season.

The Texans are now looking at free agent Pierre Thomas, who was released by the New Orleans Saints last March, ESPN reports.

The 28-year-old Foster, who is a four-time NFL Pro Bowler, was the Texans’ leader on ground, with 1, 246 rushing yards on 260 carries with eight touchdowns last season. Overall, he ranks seventh in the league and second on rushing yards average per game with 95.8 yards. Behind Foster, the Texans have 24-year-old Alfred Blue, 25-year-old Jonathan Grimes and 23-year-old Kenny Hilliard in the running back depth chart.

Blue, who suffered cramps in the same practice, ran for 528 yards on 169 carries last year while Grimes had 153 yards on 39 attempts. Hilliard is a rookie drafted in the fifth round of the recent NFL draft.

According to separate reports, the Texans, aside from trying to sign Thomas, also had tryouts for ex-New York Jets RB Joe McKnight and ex-Texans and Dallas Cowboys RB Ben Malena. The Texans and Thomas reportedly failed in agreeing to a contract, but discussions will continue in this off-season.

The Texans will face the Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons in the first quarter of the new NFL season.