Arian Foster Still Has The Potential To Become A Top Running Back

Free agent running back Arian Foster recently signed with the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins signed him to a one-year deal, which shows that the team doesn’t have much confidence in him. Foster had a string of injuries over the years that have cut his career very short. However, when healthy, Foster has the ability to be one of the best running backs in the NFL. On more than one occasion, Foster has shown he can be a top five running back. He has one last chance to prove himself with the Miami Dolphins and it will not be an easy task.

Arian Foster signed with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent. He has been a member of the team since 2009 and was released in 2015. In those years with the Texans, Foster ran for 6,472 yards and scored 54 touchdowns. Foster had four seasons in which he ran for well over 1,000 yards. The most yards he ever ran for in one season was 1,616.

Foster’s injuries have put a damper on his once blooming career. His most recent injury led to his split with the Texans was a torn achilles. Ironically, the Texans were playing the Dolphins the game that he sustained the achilles injury. Hopefully, this isn’t a bad sign for him. Foster is coming into an offense that has slowly been growing over the years. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has steadily matured since his tenure with the Dolphins started. Tannehill now has a plethora of receiving weapons at his disposal, including Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and DeVante Parker.

Throw Arian Foster into the mix and all of a sudden, the Dolphins’ offense becomes very versatile. What the Dolphins have lacked is a dependent running game. Former Dolphins’ running back Lamar Miller was talented but played with inconsistency. If Foster can come into the Dolphins’ offense and have another 1,000-yard season, the team can make some noise in the AFC East.

Success won’t come easy for Foster, who has to earn his role as the starter in training camp. He now has to compete with second-year player Jay Ajayi, Kenyan Drake, Daniel Thomas, Isaiah Pead, and Damien Williams. His biggest threat is probably going to be Ajayi who is poised to make a push for the starting role. Ajayi was the favorite to win the starting job until Foster signed with the team.

Rookie head coach, Adam Gase, spent a chunk of his NFL coaching career with the Denver Broncos. Peyton Manning actually backed Gase to become the head coach of the Broncos when John Fox left the team. Getting the approval of NFL legend Peyton Manning is not something that should be taken for granted. Even though their success was brief, Gase made running backs like Knowshon Moreno and C.J. Anderson turn into superstars. Foster is much more naturally talented than Moreno and Anderson. It should be interesting to see the kind of effect he has on Foster.

If Gase can help Arian Foster return to form, even if it is for a short period of time, the Miami Dolphins should be considered serious contenders to compete in the AFC East. The New York Jets are currently having a quarterback controversy, the New England Patriots are missing Tom Brady for the first four games of the season, and the Buffalo Bills are still rebuilding. The Dolphins will struggle to compete in their division if they don’t have the ability to run the ball.

It’s safe to say that Foster is currently the frontrunner to become the Dolphins’ starting running back. Adam Gase is already keen on the abilities Arian Foster brings to the table. In an interview with NFL, Gase made some interesting comments about his newest roster addition.

“I really like his skill set. I’ve been an admirer of his for… I don’t know how long he’s been playing. It just feels like forever. A great opportunity for us, him still being out there.”

[Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images]