The Texans solidified their running back depth when they re-signed free agent running back Derrick Ward to a 1-year contract worth up to $1.75 million.
Ward would have been an unrestricted free agent when the new CBA was constructed. He did not light up the stat sheet, but was very effective as a backup to the NFL’s leading rusher Arian Foster, especially near the goal line. His bruising style is a nice contrast to Foster’s speed and athleticism, often wearing down teams at the end of games.
The Texans recently gave Foster an exclusive rights tender, showing an intent to sign, and they still have Ben Tate and Steve Slaton on the books for next season.
This could be a sign that the contract talks with Foster aren’t going well, and the Texans maybe feel they need someone to carry the load if Foster decides to hold out. I don’t imagine that happening, as the Texans took a while to sign Andre Johnson last season but eventually got a deal done.
If worse comes to worst, Ward is a nice contingency plan seeing as how he once was a 1000 yard rusher with the Giants, and he wasn’t even the starter that season. He had a bad year behind Tampa Bay’s awful offensive line in 2009, but showed flashes of brilliance with the Texans last season.
Original Story:
http://www.texanspost.com/2011/03/hou...
