He's back!
Arian Foster, one of the top running backs in fantasy football over the last several seasons, has returned to Twitter ... and he's breaking news about his status for the upcoming 2014 campaign.
"And for those wondering, I've been medically cleared by my doctor," Foster tweeted.
That's good news for the value of the veteran running back, who landed on injured reserve last season due to a back ailment that required a surgical procedure to repair. Before suffering the injury, he averaged a respectabe 4.5 yards per carry and was on pace to rush for over 1,000 yards. Of course, his touchdown numbers (two) did leave much to be desired. The question now, of course, surrounds his future draft value and whether he's worth a roll of the dice.
Can Foster return to elite status, or has his massive workload turned him into too much of a risk?
Well, the book on Foster's 2014 value isn't closed, as coach Bill O'Brien and the Texans would also be wise to add another back to keep Foster fresh after losing Ben Tate to the Cleveland Browns. In fact, adding a young runner in May's NFL Draft could be a good thing for Foster. Remember that in his last three full seasons, he averaged a ridiculous 371.6 touches. As much as we in the fantasy world love a back who sees such a high number of opportunities to produce, we have to remember that these guys aren't robots (except for Adrian Peterson) ... they're human.
Entering his age-28 season and coming off the back procedure, it's tough to recommend drafting Foster in the first round as a No. 1 fantasy runner. With that said, he won't last beyond the second round in almost all formats. If you're the sort of owner who likes to eliminate risk altogether, then passing on Foster for younger backs like Montee Ball, Zac Stacy or Giovani Bernard is advised.
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com and NFL Network and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Have a burning question on anything fantasy related? Tweet it to _**@MichaelFabiano**_ or send a question via **Facebook**!
