The former third round pick disappointed after his return from injury
What's next for Texans after waiving D'Onta Foreman?
Aug 4, 2019, 9:49 am
Sunday morning the Texans cut former 2017 third rounder D'Onta Foreman. Here are the options currently on the team behind Lamar Miller, some thoughts on free agents, and how Foreman ended up in this spot.
Foreman's fall
It's hard to not get exited about the selection of D'Onta Foreman back in 2017. He was the Doak Walker award winner which is awarded to the nation's top running back, he was a consensus All-American and he was from the Greater Houston area.
Foreman's torn Achilles robbed him of the last parts of 2017 and pretty much all of the 2018 season. The injury took away at least six games he could have shown his stuff and he was far from right in 2018. You could see the injury took a toll on him.
Coming into this season Foreman had changed his body. He looked more fit than he had been and claimed he felt as good as he did in high school. The new body didn't translate into results. I have speculated he was in workout shape but not football shape.
His work during camp had been lackluster to say the least. He was regularly average to below-average with the ball in his hands and his pass blocking was overall bad. Bill O'Brien made it very clear early in camp there was one running back who wasn't competing for a spot and that was Lamar Miller. D'Onta Foreman, it seems, didn't get the message.
I wouldn't be shocked to see him get another chance somewhere else. He just wasn't a fit for this Texans team it seems.
Never should have been in this position
Maybe this is something that can be shoved off on Brian Gaine, but the Texans never should be in the situation they currently reside. Lamar Miller is the lone back with real NFL rushing experience. The rest of the roster is either a special teams expert, fringe roster player who has been around a few years, or an undrafted rookie.
There have been so many worthwhile running backs, both expensive and a bargain, that could have helped the Texans. Tevin Coleman signed for peanuts. C.J. Anderson showcased there was plenty left in the tank last year. T.J. Yeldon would have been a decent compliment. And just recently Theo Riddick was a free agent but signed up with a crowded Denver room.
There could have been some addressing of the position via the draft too but instead added another young tight end to the roster in the third round over the likes of Alabama's Damien Harris and Oklahoma State's Justice Hill.
Current free agents
Jay Ajayi is coming back off an ACL injury but that was in week five, a few weeks before Will Fuller who is good to go now. I like the idea of Ajayi. He has played in multiple systems and is still young. If there was a free agent addition he would be my choice.
Jacquizz Rodgers with his connection to the area (Lamar Consolidated) would have been nice but he was signed by the Saints around the same moment Foreman was released. LeGarrette Blount is a free agent and in theory is a nice power option until you realize he rushed for 2.7 yards per carry last year. Stevan Ridley was a rookie when Bill O'Brien was the offensive coordinator in New England, but he was bad last year for the Steelers.
Free agency, currently, is thin. The Texans might be looking to add a player to the roster if they get cut in the coming weeks or even during roster cut down.
Taiwan Jones
A special teams ace who has had 44 carries in his eight-year NFL career to this point. Going into his ninth year he could very-well make the roster but if he does as the backup consider it a clear failure by the front office. I can understand his usefulness as a depth player but he shouldn't end up the backup.
Karan Higdon
The former Wolverines ball carrier was slow to start his offseason after a surgery earlier this year. He has made up for it in the short amount of time in camp though. He has some juice to him and is a willing special teams player. There have been a few moments where he's showcased athleticism and sideways movement.
He had the 18th most yards per game in college football last year and had the 29th most rushing yards. I have to wonder how much being behind will affect his ability. He's catching up to where other undrafted players are though.
Damarea Crockett
Crockett was fantastic in 2016 for the Missouri Tiger but never replicated that season's success. He has had an up and down camp to this point with success on the goal line, he tattooed a couple of defenders carrying them into the end zone, and some failures, he's been stuffed after a bad cut. If I had to have a depth chart tomorrow and put someone behind Miller I likely would put Crockett there but I wouldn't feel great about it.
Josh Ferguson
He has played sparingly in the NFL since making his debut for the Colts in 2016. He garnered high praise from O'Brien in the spring work but hasn't stood out in camp. I'm not sure how much of a factor he can be in this situation.
Buddy Howell
The second-year back was a special teams only player last year for the Texans. He was one of the running backs not mentioned by name, along with Foreman, from the other day when Bill O'Brien was mentioning player's ability to be used on special teams. I do not see any way he can make this team.
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The Texans make just their third ever visit to Lambeau Field Sunday. It’s a dandy matchup as the Texans try to run their record to 6-1 at the expense of the 4-2 Green Bay Packers. The Texans have one win and one loss in Wisconsin. In 2008 the gameday high temperature was 13 degrees. Kris Brown kicked a 40 yard field goal as time expired to give the Texans a 24-21 win over a Packers team that struggled to a 6-10 record under first-year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Texans posted their second consecutive 8-8 finish that year. In 2016 the mercury reached a balmy high of 34 degrees as the Texans fell 21-13 at Lambeau. Inexplicably, Rodgers somehow managed to win the quarterback matchup with Brock Osweiler. The Texans and Packers each won their division that year. Both Texans’ trips to “America’s Dairyland” occurred in December. No risk of frozen tundra this time around. The forecast for Green Bay Sunday calls for a high of 75 degrees! That’s almost 20 degrees warmer than normal there for October 20.
It’s a dynamic QB matchup with C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love sharing the field. Love broke out in a huge way in 2023 after serving a two-year apprenticeship under Rodgers. After a stumbling 3-6 start to their season the Packers went 6-2 the rest of the way to snag a playoff spot. They obliterated the Cowboys in a Wild Card game in Arlington (before everyone obliterated the Cowboys in Arlington...) then led at the 49ers with under 90 seconds to go before San Francisco scored to win 24-21. The Packers made crystal clear their belief in Love by signing him to a four-year 220 million dollar contract extension in July. That’s 55 mil per season. Stroud becomes extension-eligible after next season. Anyone think he won’t be in position to command at least 65 mil per season?
Stroud sure looks to be the guy to finally give the Texans the long-term stability and excellence they have never had at the most important position in the sport. The Pack is all in on Love continuing its unreal long-term QB stability and excellence. Love took the reins after Rodgers helmed the offense for 15 seasons. Rodgers took the reins after Brett Favre’s 16-year tenure. So if Love makes it for nine years as the starter, that’s three primary QBs in 40 years. Absolutely amazing.
After missing two games because of a sprained knee ligament suffered in the final seconds of the Packers’ season opening loss to the Eagles in Brazil, Love has thrown 10 touchdown passes in three games. But he has only completed 59 percent of his passes, and has thrown at least one interception per game.
The Texans’ first trip to the NFC North this season went brutally badly, the 34-7 beatdown from Minnesota. The Vikings beat the Packers 31-29 in week four of the season. That was Love’s first game back, he threw four touchdown passes and three picks. One defensive weapon the Texans will have against the Pack they did not have against the Vikes is Denico Autry. The 34-year-old Autry returns from his six-game banned substance suspension. That happens as one of the fill-ins for him, Mario Edwards, starts his own four-game substance abuse suspension. That should be a net improvement for the Texans.
X-factors
The single biggest variable in swinging the outcome of football games is turnovers. So far this season the Packers have been a takeaway machine. Last season the Packers generated just 18 turnovers over their 17 regular season games, only six teams took the ball away less often. Through just six games this season the Packers already have 17 takeaways. No other NFL team has more than 13, the Texans have just seven. The Packers have produced exactly three turnovers in five of their six games, and got two in the other. Every defense preaches turnovers, so it’s not as if first-year Green Bay defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley has introduced radical concepts that are yielding magical results. But the results are what they are.
If the Texans take care of the ball, they have a terrific chance to win. Having Joe Mixon back aids the cause on two fronts. One, Mixon is obviously the Texans’ best running back. Two, Mixon last fumbled in 2021. The Texans probably best plan to score 25 or more points to win this one because the Packers figure to score a bit. In Love’s four starts the Pack has lit the scoreboard for 29, 29, 24, and 34 points. On the other hand, the Texans’ D has been pretty stout, allowing the third-fewest yards per game (Green Bay rates 18th). It’s a strength vs. strength battle. The Texans have allowed no opponent more than 313 yards in total offense. The Packers have amassed at least 378 yards in five of their six games, and managed 328 in their worst performance.
For Texans’ conversation, catch Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me on our Texans On Tap podcasts. Thursdays feature a preview of the upcoming game, and then we go live (then available on demand) after the final gun of the game: Texans on Tap - YouTube
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