Arian Foster looks to begin a new era with the Miami Dolphins

When the Arian Foster tore his Achilles against the Miami Dolphins on October 25, 2015 as a member of the Houston Texans, many thought his career might be over after he missed the rest of that regular season. After all, Foster was released by the Texans last March and he was approaching the age of 30 and that is usually when a number of running backs begin to decline.

Interest was low, but the Dolphins decided to take a chance on Foster right before training camp in July. Miami signed Foster to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. After he had outperformed Jay Ajayi and the rest of the Dolphins running backs on the roster during the preseason, Foster was named the team’s starting running back for their season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.

Despite coming off of an Achilles injury, Foster said there isn’t any added motivation to play well against the Seahawks.

“I mean football is football,” Foster said. “Any time you get the luxury of coming out here and doing what you love for a living, it’s always awesome. So I guess in that sense, it’s special. But I’m just another chess piece out there.”

In his seven seasons with the Texans, Foster became one of the most productive running backs in the NFL from 2009-2015. Foster was selected to four Pro Bowl and rush for 6,472 yards and 54 touchdowns in Houston.

The problem with Foster recently has his inability to remain healthy. He hasn’t played a full 16 game season since 2012 where he rushed for 1,424 yards and 15 touchdowns.

In 2013, Foster injured his back before the start of the season. While he was able to play in the Texans first eight games, Foster season was cut short after Week 9 due to a season-ending surgery to repair a ruptured disk in his back.

The following season in 2014, Foster ran for 1,246 yards and eight touchdowns, but he did miss three games due to a leg and groin injury.

Last season, Foster only played in four games because of injury as he rushed for 163 yards and a touchdown. The Dolphins are hoping Foster can return to the form that made him one of the best running backs in the NFL.

Miami’s rushing attack was ranked 23^rd in the league in 2015 as they averaged 93.5 rushing yards per game. So signing Foster made a lot of sense for the Gase and the Dolphins. He is a smooth runner that has excellent vision to find the open hole in the offense. Foster also has a lot of experience running in a zone-blocking scheme, something that Miami will be running under head coach Adam Gase.

Foster is also an excellent pass-catcher out of the backfield, which fits Gase’s offensive system. He compiled 249 receptions and 14 receiving touchdowns in his first seven seasons in the NFL.

Not only does Foster has great hands, but he is also an excellent route runner. His ability to run routes much like a polished receiver helps him beats a number of linebackers in coverage in one-on-one situations.

The team doesn’t need Foster to rush for 1,600 yards, but they just need him to be a healthy and productive running back in their offense. Foster said he does have statistical goals for himself, but he will keep those to himself.

“I don’t want to share them with you all though because then you all take them and write articles about it,”  Foster said.

You can follow Antwan on Twitter @antwanstaley