What if the Philadelphia Eagles signed Arian Foster?

Could (and should) Arian Foster sign with the Philadelphia Eagles?

Leading up to the 2016 NFL draft, one of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ biggest needs was a true No. 1 running back. Before eventually trading up to select Carson Wentz as their franchise quarterback, Ohio State’s Ezekiel Elliott was heavily linked to Philadelphia, but he is now a member of the Dallas Cowboys.

However, the Eagles did address their need for a running back later in the draft by selecting Wendell Smallwood. While Smallwood has the potential to become a solid contributor for the Eagles, he does not look to be a true workhorse running back. Workhorse backs are hard to find, but there just so happens to be one on the market waiting for a team to give him an opportunity. And his name is Arian Foster, formerly of the Houston Texans.

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Since his breakout season in 2010, Foster has been one of the most dominant running backs in the NFL. From 2010 to 2012, Foster compiled 4,264 yards on the ground for 41 touchdowns while averaging 4.46 yards per carry.

Oh, and he also caught 159 balls for 1,438 yards and 6 more touchdowns. Let’s not forget about that.

Foster is a rare specimen who can run and catch the football at a very high level — something Eagles Head Coach Doug Pederson loves in his running backs (see Jamaal Charles).

The issue with Foster is his health. In the last three years, Foster has played in only 25 games out of a possible 48 thanks to injuries to his back and Achilles (the latter ending his 2015 season, ultimately leading to his release from the Texans).

In any other year, Foster would have immediately signed with another team for an outrageous amount of money.

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But this isn’t any other year.

Foster has been sitting on the open market for nearly three months now and remains jobless. With a not-so-attractive injury history to think about, Foster won’t be getting anywhere close to the amount of money he would have a year or two ago.

With that in mind, it wouldn’t be a horrible idea for the Eagles sign him to a short-term deal.

The best running backs currently on the Eagles’ roster are Ryan Mathews (who, mind you, is also injury-prone), the near-33-year-old Darren Sproles and Wendell Smallwood.

Not exactly an ideal situation at running back for the Eagles.

Foster would immediately give the Eagles a reliable player to line up behind Sam Bradford (or maybe Carson Wentz?) in Week 1.

Signing Foster does come with risks, however. After all, there is a reason why he remains unsigned. It’s fair to assume that he may not be able to handle a full workload any longer due to his waning durability. His age (he turns 30 in August) is also something to think about. But signing Foster is a risk the Eagles may want to ponder, especially considering the fact that the team will likely use a running back-by-committee approach in 2016 anyway.

According to Foster himself, he may need another month until he is officially back in football shape. Once that happens, teams will be asking for his services and the Eagles, without a sliver of a doubt, should absolutely be one of those teams if they want to maximize their chances of contending in 2016.

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