Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien has admitted that the club will have to reconsider the workload they place on running back Arian Foster as he approaches the age of 30.
The All-Pro will turn 29 in August but has shown no signs of decline as he recorded a fine season for the Texans in the 2014 campaign, despite a lack of production from the quarterback position.
However O'Brien feels that something will have to give in the future to decrease the burden on Foster's shoulders for the future.
He told reporters: "I think any time a player reaches that age of 30 or close to that age of 30, and you know that the guy can still play, you know that he is a very talented player.
"Arian is a very talented guy in a lot of phases. He can run the ball, he can catch the ball, he's a good pass protector, he's a smart football player, but you've got to manage him. How do you manage that? You manage him in practice. You manage him in the games.
"That's something we'll always take into account. We communicate with the player. We communicate with Arian. How are you feeling this week? What's ailing you? Things like that. You take a lot of hits at running back in this league. I think we just continue to communicate with Arian and manage it. He's got a lot of good football yet."
Foster recorded 1,246 rushing yards along with eight touchdowns in the 2014 season.
Simon Sinclair
