The Texans are expected to cut ties with running back Arian Foster, due in part to concerns from the man who signs the checks that Foster spends too much time rehabbing soft-tissue injuries.
As Foster, who’ll turn 30 in August, heads toward the final years of his NFL career, his feelings on football are hardening.
“I watch zero football. I swear,” Foster recently told actor Michael Rapaport in a podcast, via the Houston Chronicle. “Of course, I used to be a super fan growing up. Once you see the business side, you see it differently. I’m pondering entering the last couple, 3-4 years of my career and I’m thinking about what life will be like after football and I’m looking at the game differently. I look at it more like, ‘I hope these guys come out healthy because they’ve got families.’ It’s not just entertainment to me any more. I see the men and the humans behind it. It’s a vantage point that not a lot of people get to see. I still do enjoy the game. I love it, but it’s just hard for me to watch it from a fan perspective.”
Foster also pointed out the double standard that applies to owners and players, with no one batting an eye when a team rips up a contract but players being accused of selfishness and greed when they have outperformed their contracts.
“He’s doing what is best for him and his family,” Foster said of the player who asks for more. “It’s a business move. People don’t think about that. They don’t look at you as a human anymore once you make a certain amount of money.”
Foster likewise expressed concerns about Thursday night games, but his feelings are far from universal. It seems that for every player who publicly questions short-week games, many others have no issue with it -- especially when considering the light work week before the game and the mini-bye on the back end.
“I don’t want it to sound like I’m complaining,” Foster said. “I’m not complaining, I love what I do. I’m very . . . I don’t want to say privileged because that’s disrespectful to the work I’ve put in and everybody else put in, but I’m just very grateful for the opportunity to play in the NFL.”
Given the position he plays and his history of injuries, the opportunity in Houston could soon be evaporating. The question then becomes whether and for how much compensation other teams will provide him another opportunity.