The Houston Texans lost running back Alfred Blue in free agency to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and now the Texans are seeking a viable replacement.
One back that could be a part of the solution is former Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots running back Josh Ferguson, who spent 2018 between the two teams as well as on the Texans’ practice squad.
“I think we have a candidate there in Josh Ferguson who’s had a good spring for us,” coach Bill O’Brien said on Wednesday after the second day of minicamp. “Hopefully that carries over to training camp for him. But really that position is very unique, that ‘sub-back’ is what we call it. That third-down back is a very unique position.”
Ferguson has had only 16 rushing attempts in his two-year career as a Colt. Still only 26 years old Ferguson has relatively fresh legs as a running back.
Said O’Brien: “In the past we’ve had guys like Arian Foster who was a three-down back. He was awesome in the passing game too, he wasn’t just a runner, obviously.”
However, with it only being June and the last break of the offseason nigh, the coaches will have discussions on who can be a good sub-back for the Texans.
“We’ve had sub-backs and we’ve got to continue to develop Josh Ferguson and see if he can be that guy,” said O’Brien. “That’s something that we’re still talking about, evaluating and thinking about.”
With Lamar Miller and D’Onta Foreman cementing them selves as the number one and number two backs for the Texans, Ferguson has to seize the opportunity and take control the third down back role. If not, undrafted Karan Higdon or a surprise cut could take that spot and leave Ferguson on the practice squad or bouncing between rosters.
