Dolphins Still Monitoring Arian Foster

The Dolphins continue to monitor Texans free agent Arian Foster, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Foster visited with Miami in late March but left without a deal. Arian Foster (vertical)

Foster is still recovering from a torn Achilles, though he reportedly should be able to pass a physical sometime in the coming weeks. Given his injury, Foster’s reps made it clear that he was in no rush to sign this offseason. The Dolphins would be a logical landing spot for Foster as the veteran could push presumptive starter Jay Ajayi for playing time and give rookie tailback Kenyan Drake extra time to develop.

Recently, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ranked the top offensive free agents remaining on the open market and placed Foster in the top ten. In addition to the Dolphins, he ID’d the Raiders, Eagles, and Chargers as potential matches for the veteran. The Patriots, depending on who you ask, may have preliminary interest in the four-time Pro Bowler.

Foster, 30 in August, accumulated 6,472 rushing yards during his seven years as a Texan, and that figure would have been even higher if injuries had not slowed him down over the course of the last three seasons. After earning three consecutive Pro Bowl nods from 2010 to 2012, averaging about 1,900 all purpose yards and 16 touchdowns in those seasons, Foster was limited to 25 regular-season games from 2013 to 2015. Those injuries, along with his age and his increasing cap number, resulted in the Texans releasing him this spring.

In 2015, Foster was slowed by a groin injury in training camp and the preseason, and later suffered a torn Achilles, landing him on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. When he played, he was at his least productive, averaging only 2.6 yards per carry on 63 attempts. Still, if he recovers well from the Achilles injury, the Tennessee alum could have something left in the tank — he was a Pro Bowler in 2014, piling up 1,246 rushing yards in just 13 contests.

In other Dolphins running back news, Jackson notes that the Fins staff sees Damien Williams as the front-runner for the No. 3 RB job behind Ajayi and Drake, though Daniel Thomas could push Williams. Ultimately, veteran Isaiah Pead “faces an uphill climb” and it sounds like he could be the odd man out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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