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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Texans HC DeMeco Ryans reveals what he values most at scouting combine
Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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