Ben Tate Needs Surgery for 'Very Significant Ankle Injury'

Ben Tate's rookie s

eason appears over after just two preseason carries. The Texans rookie running back, selected No. 58 overall in April's draft, suffered what head coach Gary Kubiak described as a "very significant ankle injury" in Houston's 19-16 loss to Arizona on Saturday. Tate will undergo surgery Tuesday and likely be placed on injured reserve.

Tate was carted off the field after a tackle by Arizona rookie LB Daryl Washington. Houston Chronicle columnist Jerome Solomon cited a source close to Tate as saying that the injury "does not look good and could be major."

Houston drafted Tate in the hope that he could eventually provide some stability to the Texans' unsteady ground game. Second-year back Arian Foster, already penciled in as the starting RB, takes a stranglehold on the position now, especially in light of another fumble from Steve Slaton -- a major issue last year -- during Saturday's game.

Chris Henry, a second-round draft pick of Tennessee in 2007, could also be in line for increased carries. Kubiak has repeatedly praised Henry's work ethic this offseason.

"His conditioning level is tremendous," Kubiak said.

Houston finished 30th in the league in rushing last season, with just 92.2 yards per game. Slaton led the way with a mere 437 yards on 131 carries.

Fantasy Spin: By all accounts, Foster was looking like the Houston back to own in fantasy football, and Tate's injury just put the official stamp of approval on Foster's sleeper status. Foster will likely be one of the last No. 1 RBs off the board in most fantasy drafts, and it's hard not to love his value as a No. 2 fantasy RB. -- R.J. White