Arian Foster has never allowed himself to be defined by football, but that doesn’t mean he’s not trying to stay in the game.
The former Texans running back, who is recovering from the torn Achilles that ended his time in Houston, is focused on getting himself healthy and finding another job.
He’s training twice a day at a facility run by his brother in Houston, and teams have checked in on his progress.
“Arian’s doing great,” said his brother Abdul Foster, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “When you go through stuff like this, you say, ‘Okay, I’m financially set. I don’t need to do this to take care of my family, but, at the end of the day, do I still love this game? Is there still a passion for me?’ The reason I’m excited is because Arian is still passionate about football.
“That’s always a question when money is involved and you’ve made your mark in the league. Do you still have a desire to play in the league. Arian still does, which is exciting to me. The good part is he’s motivated. He’s definitely putting in the work here.”
Foster was cleared to resume running in January, and is overcoming a long string of injuries. He’s played just 25 games the last three seasons, with groin surgery last year in addition to the torn Achilles. His brother/trainer said they’re working to get Foster more comfortable with the kind of recovery work he needs at age 29.
“I will say the majority of Arian’s issues have come from the ability to kind of believe in doctors,” Abdul Foster said. “Arian has had some bad instances with doctors. He has kind of leaned away from that. I kind of view guys like him like a Ferrari. They need constant maintenance on their bodies. The extreme injuries Arian has had, we’ve tried to get him to do basic recovery, ice, getting on a table to be worked on. Arian has kind of shied away from that because he’s had some bad experiences with doctors.
“Over the years of constant collisions on the field, play after play, day after day, it wears on the body. If you don’t do anything to repair it, I think you’re going to have some issues. A lot of the injuries Arian has seen and witness over the years are a result of him not doing the kind of recovery he needed. His pain tolerance is unreal. He played the entire 2010 season with a broken collarbone. This go-round, he’s bought into the program we’ve put him on. He’s doing the proper maintenance he needed to do on his body. He’s doing good. I’m pretty excited to see what happens with him this go-round.”
While his recovery will keep him from cashing in like some other veteran backs this offseason, his track record suggests he can find work. And the fact he wants to keep going may be as good a sign as any.