Texans running back Arian Foster was listed by the team as a limited participant in Thursday’s practice.
That marks progress, and though Foster still is almost certainly at least a week from playing in a game, it meshes with Foster telling reporters last week he was “ahead of schedule” after undergoing groin surgery in August following an injury that’s kept him out since early in camp.
Also last week, Texans coach Bill O’Brien told reporters he expected Foster back “sooner rather than later.”
Foster has been attending practices and working out on the side, but Thursday is the first time the team has considered him a participant.
An undrafted free agent turned four-time Pro Bowler, Foster has rushed for more than 1,200 yards in each of the four seasons he’s played in more than eight games. He’s also caught 40 or more passes three times in his career, and his eventual return -- especially if it comes well ahead of what was once thought to be a late-October timeline -- will boost an offense that’s changing quarterbacks after just one week in search of a spark.