The Houston Texans running back situation appears to be just as up in the air as their quarterback play. With Case Keenum now starting under center in place of veteran Matt Schaub, having a reliable running back to take the pressure off is crucial. That is turning out to be an issue for the Texans as both Arian Foster and Ben Tate remain questionable for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Both Tate and Foster were held out of Monday's practice making the situation worse. Foster has been dealing with hamstring issues for most of the season. While the veteran claims it is improving by the day, his status for Sunday has yet to be determined. The Texans were hoping to have Foster completely healthy coming out of the bye week, but that appears to not be the case.
Tate is another situation. The backup suffered four broken ribs while subbing in for Foster against the Kansas City Chiefs. While four broken ribs would knock the normal person out for months, Tate is confident he will be on the field come Sunday.
"Every day they get better and better," Tate said, via the Houston Chronicle. "So I think by Sunday, I'll be fine. Opened up pretty good (Monday). So I expect to practice this week and push towards playing."
Tate notes that it is ultimately the coach's decision on whether or not he takes the field against the Colts. The Texans ultimately need either Tate or Foster to play as depth is now an issue for the team. As a backup plan, the team signed Deji Karim and Dennis Johnson off the free agent market while promoting Ray Graham off the practice. Neither of those three backs will be enough to help Keenum out, but right now it is all the Texans have. Head coach Gary Kubiak understands that both players are hopeful to get back on the field quickly.
"Very concerned," Kubiak said. "We understand Ben's situation. I think they're both going to give us everything they can to try to play this week. I don't think we're going to know anything until later in the week."
Fantasy owners should really steer clear of counting on either back to be productive on Sunday whether they are on the field or not.
