Arian Foster Injury: Fantasy Advice for Players with Texans RB After Week 9

It was a familiar scene. Arian Foster, holding some part of his body, limping to the locker room before the final whistle. This time, at least, Foster did fantasy owners the courtesy of an excellent pre-injury performance, cobbling together 119 total yards and a touchdown in the Texans' 31-21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

Outside DeMarco Murray—the exception upon whom rules are created—Foster has been the NFL's most consistent running back in 2014. He sits behind only Murray in rushing yards, has three more total touchdowns than the Dallas Cowboys star and is averaging a career-best 5.1 yards per carry. 

All this despite missing Week 3 and being rendered totally ineffective in Week 4 due to a hamstring injury. In the six games where he's been 100 percent healthy (or close) whistle-to-whistle, Foster has scored seven rushing touchdowns and gone over 100 yards each contest.

So to see him go down in the third quarter Sunday with a groin injury was likely cause for a few thrown items. Included in said items was Foster's helmet, which he slammed to the ground in anger when he realized he was injured.

The Texans have not categorized Foster's injury yet, but an MRI is expected in the coming days that will determine his status.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

"We'll see how that is, but obviously the bye week is coming at a good time for things like that," Texans coach Bill O'Brien told reporters, per Tania Ganguli of ESPN.com "Hopefully we'll be able to get him some rest. He's had a heck of a year, and we certainly need him down the stretch."

The good news, as O'Brien notes, is that Houston's Week 10 bye gives Foster two weeks to recover. While that won't help if his injury is a tear or severe strain—the former of which possibly ending his season—it allows all involved to take a deep breath.

Foster's MRI results will be released far enough in advance to create a proper game plan, whether by the team itself or by a reporter close to the situation. It would ultimately be silly to make any Foster-related decision before knowing how long he'll be out (or if he will be at all). Fantasy owners already had contingencies in place for being without Foster in Week 10, so his injury changes a whole lot of nothing. 

There's no need to rush and pick up Alfred Blue when waivers come through; no need to float Foster on the trade block; no need to do anything but sit there with a doofy smile on your face, refreshing the Texans' Twitter feed and website for news.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Foster, even if out one or two weeks, is one of the most valuable commodities in fantasy football. He is an every-down workhorse who plays for a team that throws the ball less often than anyone else in the NFL, per TeamRankings.com.

Any Texans running back is valuable in O'Brien's scheme for as long as Ryan Fitzpatrick is the quarterback. Foster has the natural ability to use O'Brien's schematic leanings—at least his professional ones; O'Brien's teams at Penn State were more pass-friendly—to his advantage.

Assuming he returns at some point this season, he'll be a no-questions-asked RB1—one of a handful of guys to whom you can ascribe such a label. An injury such as this puts fantasy owners in a proverbial no man's land.

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Foster is an entirely too-valuable commodity to shop for what he'd return while injured. Trading Foster for, say, Golden Tate is the type of short-term thinking that can sink a team come playoff time. Picking up Blue as a potential handcuff isn't a terrible idea, but there are only so many bench spots. In deeper leagues, adding him is a no-brainer. In 10- and 12-team leagues, it's a little more murky.

In a nutshell: Don't do anything.

Foster is the NFL's second-best fantasy running back when healthy. Treat him as any sane, rational person would and offer to give up your firstborn to the Fantasy Gods for him to be given a clean bill of health. (Kidding. Firstborns are far too important. Offer your second.)

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter