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Texans RB Arian Foster's chances of playing Sunday are 'very, very low'



ESPN's Texans reporter Tania Ganguli was asked Friday via Twitter what the chances are that running back Arian Foster will play Sunday against the Bengals. Her response: "Very, very low." As such, Foster, who has not played since Week 9 due to a groin injury, will likely be replaced in the starting lineup once again by Alfred Blue. The rookie did most of the heavy lifting for Houston out of its backfield against the Browns, rushing 36 times for 156 yards.



It all seemed so promising for Foster after head coach Bill O'Brien said following last week's win that he expected his star back to play in Week 12. Then he practiced on Wednesday of this week, and everyone was ready to roll with Foster again. Then there were back-to-back DNPs on Thursday and Friday and here we are. The team has said nothing about a setback, but you can't help but wonder, especially with an injury that is easy to aggravate (see: Montee Ball) and a player who has an extensive history of soft-tissue injuries.Blue is no Foster, but the good news is the Texans are obviously committed to the run and committed to Blue as their starter for the time being. He should see another large workload Sunday against a Bengals defense that has given up the third-most fantasy points per game to RBs and seven touchdowns to the position in its past five games.Jonathan Grimes got 13 carries last week, but that was based wholly on game flow. Grimes is just a chance-of-pace runner for the Texans and not a fantasy option.