Grimes will have an expanded role with Arian Foster (groin) to miss at least half of the season, the Texans' official site reports.

Grimes was mainly a third-down back in the Houston offense last season, but head coach Bill O'Brien said Grimes will play on the earlier downs due to Foster's injury. There's no doubt that the Foster injury creates opportunities for other backs, though we expect Alfred Blue to benefit the most.

Grimes had 11 carries for 45 yards in the season-ending win over the Jaguars and finished the 2015 season with 39 carries for 153 yards (3.9 average). He also caught six passes on eight targets for 86 yards.

Most of Grimes' work came in two games in which Arian Foster was either inactive or injured. He was clearly the third back behind Alfred Blue. Grimes has a contract that runs through 2016, but third-string running back jobs are never secure in the NFL. We expect some competition when offseason programs and training camps roll around.

Grimes had 13 yards rushing on five carries in Sunday's win over the Titans.

As the Texans built a big lead early and were never threatened, they were able to limit Arian Foster's touches in his first game back after missing two weeks with a groin injury. Grimes and top backup Alfred Blue combined for 12 carries.

Grimes (ankle) had two carries for 16 rushing yards and three catches on four targets for 32 receiving yards Sunday against the Bengals.

Grimes finished with 11 fewer carries than he got in Week 11 against the Browns, though his four targets were three more than he had all season. Alfred Blue continues to dominate the carries (16 for 46 yards Sunday) in place of the injured Arian Foster (groin), though there is a chance that Foster could return in Week 13 against the Titans, which would severely limit any small upside Grimes may have had.

Grimes had a season-high 13 carries for 54 yards Sunday against the Browns.

Grimes came into the game having not garnered more than three carries in any contest this season, but he got a significant increase thanks to Arian Foster being sidelined with a groin injury. However, any talk that he could take on a big role in the rushing attack should be tempered, as rookie Alfred Blue, who started in place of Foster, had a franchise-record 36 carries for 156 yards. It's unclear when Foster will return, but as long as Blue is healthy, Grimes' fantasy upside will remain limited.

Grimes' teammate, Arian Foster, has been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Browns, Drew Dougherty of houstontexans.com reports.

Alfred Blue will likely start and get most of the touches, but Grimes should at least have a small role in the offense. When Foster previously missed a game back in Week 3, Grimes got just one carry and one reception, while Blue had 14 touches. It won't be surprising if Grimes has a somewhat larger role this team around, but it seems pretty clear that Blue will lead the way. Grimes has just eight touches through his first nine games of the season.

Grimes had just three carries for nine yards in Sunday's 30-14 win at Oakland.

Meanwhile, Alfred Blue got more work than Grimes late in the game, finishing with 11 carries for 40 yards. Arian Foster had another big game, and is Houston's clear workhorse back, but it appears for now that Blue is the second option.

Grimes carried once for two yards in Sunday's win over Washington.

The Houston Chronicle notes that Grimes was on the field for eight plays Sunday, while fellow RB Alfred Blue was on the field for just two. Meanwhile, top back Arian Foster recorded 57 plays. The small sample size doesn't add a ton of clarity to the team's backup RB situation, though it is clear that Foster is on track to remain the team's undisputed top back as long as he remains healthy.

Grimes had 33 yards on eight carries and 11 yards on one reception in Thursday's preseason finale against the 49ers.

Grimes outperformed Alfred Blue, who got the start but managed just -3 yards on four carries and 26 yards on two receptions. The two would likely split work in the event of an Arian Foster injury, but it's not entirely clear which player is first in line for touches behind Foster. While it may be that the usage will be situation dependent, Blue is listed ahead of Grimes on the latest unofficial depth chart, according to CSN Houston's Dave Zangaro.

Grimes had five carries for 22 yards and a touchdown and one reception for 24 yards on one target in Saturday's preseason game against the Broncos.

As reported by The Houston Chronicle's John McClain, Grimes was announced as the starter but Alfred Blue actually played the first snap. Both backs were active with the first-team offense, and Blue also saw a bit of work with the second-stringers. On the Texans' scoring drive in the first half, Blue picked up four yards on a fourth-and-one from the Denver five-yard line, and Grimes got a one-yard touchdown on the next play. Arian Foster (hamstring) is on track to be ready for Week 1, and while Grimes has seemingly done enough to hold onto the second spot on the depth chart, Blue might pick up a spare touch or three. Should Foster suffer a setback or come down with a new injury, the Texans would likely use both Grimes and Blue. Grimes is still the preferred handcuff, especially in PPR formats.

Starting in place of Arian Foster (hamstring), Grimes gained 42 yards on nine carries and 25 yards on three receptions in Saturday's preseason game against the Falcons.

Grimes is listed second on the depth chart, and his usage in Saturday's game backed that up, even though he returned a blocked punt for a touchdown. That he was playing special teams in the fourth quarter isn't all that surprising, as Grimes was thought to be competing for the No. 3/4 running back job before the Texans released Andre Brown. Now the favorite to serve as Arian Foster's top backup, Grimes added to his momentum with a strong performance Saturday. Alfred Blue, who is now well positioned to earn the No. 3 role, did score a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday's game. As for Foster, the star running back is expected to be ready for the start of the season, but he is coming off an injury-plagued 2013 campaign.

In the wake of the release of Andre Brown, the Texans' latest unofficial depth chart lists Grimes as the team's No. 2 running back behind Arian Foster, the team's official site reports.

Meanwhile, Alfred Blue is listed third on the team's RB depth chart, followed by newcomers Ronnie Brown and William Powell. While Foster is back at practice as of Wednesday, who emerges as his top backup is a situation of fantasy import, given his recent injury history. For now at least, it's an assignment that Grimes appears to be in the lead to claim.

Grimes and Alfred Blue got most of the carries during Tuesday's practice, the Houston Chronicle reports.

After Monday's position shake up in which three backs were let go and two others were signed, Grimes has emerged as the leading back with Arian Foster still sidelined by a hamstring injury.

Grimes could be in line for an increased role in the Houston offense, as the Texans released Andre Brown on Monday, John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Grimes led the Texans in rushing during their first preseason contest against the Cardinals, carrying the ball 10 times for 39 yards. He doubled the carries of any other Houston back in that game, despite not being listed as one of the top-3 backs on the team's depth chart . With Brown out of the mix, it will now be a competition between Grimes and rookie Alfred Blue to decide who will serve as Arian Foster's primary backup in 2014. Considering Foster's injury history, and the fact that he's currently hampered by an undisclosed ailment, there could definitely be some value to find in Grimes or Blue, at the very least as a handcuff to Foster.

Though not reflected by the Texans' posted depth chart, Grimes continued to work ahead of Alfred Blue and Andre Brown in practice on Monday, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Brown was signed during the offseason, presumably to replace Ben Tate as Arian Foster's top backup, and while it's too early to write him off as a candidate for that assignment, with his carries limited Monday during practice, it's fair to consider the possibility that Grimes may have emerged as a candidate for the job. It's a position battle to monitor, especially with Foster -- who is currently banged up -- coming off a 2013 season in which he played eight games.

Grimes surprisingly started Saturday's preseason opener against the Cardinals, gaining 39 yards on 10 carries.

Arian Foster (undisclosed) was ruled out beforehand, but it was a surprise that Andre Brown didn't play. There should be an explanation within the next day or two, as it's safe to assume that Grimes didn't jump from No. 5/6 on the depth chart all the way to No. 2. While this may be entirely meaningless, it's possible that Grimes is a threat to Dennis Johnson and Alfred Blue, who are listed third and fourth on the depth chart, respectively.

Grimes ran well and made some nice catches out of the backfield in Friday's practice session, CSN Houston reports.

Grimes was activated from the non-football injury list Thursday and participated in his first practice Friday. Houston's running back position attracts some mild interest these days with Arian Foster unable to practice Friday, the third time this week he's been held out.

Grimes passed his physical and has been added to the active roster, CSN Houston reports.

Grimes had been on the Active Non-Football Injury list. He can now begin practicing.

Jonathan Grimes will be the Texans' Week 17 starter at running back.

Dennis Johnson is questionable with a hip injury, while Deji Karim is done for the year with a broken collarbone. A second-year undrafted free agent, Grimes has seven career carries, five of which came Sunday against the Broncos. He's an unknown commodity, but has a favorable matchup in the Titans' run-of-the-mill run defense. He'll be a bottom-dollar option in daily leagues.

Texans RB Jonathan Grimes rushed five times for 23 yards in Houston's Week 16 loss to the Broncos.

Grimes was the No. 3 back through the rotation, behind Dennis Johnson and Deji Karim. Because Grimes outproduced both on a per-carry basis, it's possible he'll see more carries in Week 17 against Tennessee.