Steve Slaton Starts Long Recovery

Steve Slaton and the Houston Texans had their share of problems in the running game this past season. While Slaton struggled with fumbling problems and injuries, the Texans as a team fell to one of the worst running squads in the NFL with an average of 92 yards (29th in the league) a game.

To correct this problem on the ground the Texans are rumored to be using Slaton as the teams third down runner and are hopeful to find someone other than Arian Foster to carry the football on early downs.  Some have thought  LaDainian Tomlinson would be a decent fit (will probably leave San Diego) as a free agent fill in, or they will draft another running back.

Whichever path they choose, it does, in fact, look like fantasy football owners can count Slaton out as a viable fantasy option for now. Slaton was placed on injured reserve late in the season and in January, he had cervical fusion surgery on his neck.

The surgery is basically supposed to relieve the pressure on Slaton’s spine that caused him to lose feeling all the way down to his hand. Just thinking of recovering from an injury like that sounds like it’s going to take time, so it’s no surprise the team announced Slaton will not participate in contact drills until four to six months from now.

Even if Slaton makes a sound recovery from this ailment, I can’t see the Texans wanting to use Slaton for more than maybe 200 total touches in his first year back. At this time, Slaton is probably not worth a selection at fantasy football drafts this summer.

With that said I could still see Slaton playing a factor late in the season if Foster or another running back sustains an injury and Slaton receives an opportunity to be the starter again in December. I say this because in a condensed time period, the team may be willing to roll with their talent tail back if he has held up well throughout the season.

NFL fantasy football player rankings writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com