Ramon Foster
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Foster in 2015 | |||||||
| No. 73 Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||
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| Position: | Guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Date of birth: | January 7, 1986 | ||||||
| Place of birth: | Henning, Tennessee | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 325 lb (147 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Ripley (TN) | ||||||
| College: | Tennessee | ||||||
| Undrafted: | 2009 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 1, 2015 | |||||||
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Ramon Foster (born January 7, 1986), nicknamed "The Big Ragu", is an American football guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He is the brother of former St Louis Rams offensive lineman, Renardo Foster. He played college football at Tennessee where he played in a career total of 44 games and also earned All-SEC honors as a freshman a junior. Foster was named to the ESPN Mark May´s 2007 "MayDay Team" after playing with a broken thumb throughout most of his junior season.[1]
Early career
Foster started for all four year both on offense and defense at Ripley High School in Ripley, Tennessee and also handled some place-kicking and kickoff duties. He was also a three-year starter on the school's basketball team. He also competed in track and field achieved a career-best shot put of 45-11.[2]
Professional career
2009 NFL Draft
Coming out of Tennessee in 2009, Foster attended the NFL combine and participated at Tennessee's annual Pro Day. Although being graded as a late-round draft pick, Foster ultimately went undrafted.
Pittsburgh Steelers
2009
On April 27, 2009, Foster was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers.[3][4] Coming into the 2009 NFL season, Foster was initially competing to be a back-up guard against the Steelers' 2009 third-round draft pick, Kraig Urbik. Following an injury to starting veteran guard Darnell Stapleton during training camp, Foster gained the opportunity to become the back-up guard. As a rookie, Foster did not play in the first two games of the 2009 NFL season. He received his first playing time during a Week 3 contest at the Cincinnati Bengals. On November 29, 2009, he received his first career start in a Week 12 loss, to the division-rival Baltimore Ravens, after replacing an injured Chris Kemoeatu. Foster returned to the starting position on December 20, 2009, against the Green Bay Packers and remained there for the last three games of the regular season, as the Steelers ended with a 9–7 record and missed the playoffs.
As a rookie in 2009, Foster had four starts and played in 14 games.
2010
Although he finished 2009 as a starter, he did not begin the following season as the starting guard. He received his first playing time in 2010, in a Week 3 38–13 victory at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Foster didn't receive his first start that year until Week 10 against the New England Patriots. He then remained the starting guard for last 7 games of the 2010 season. He finished his second season with 8 starts in 12 games played.[5]
2011
Beginning in 2011, Foster began to be a mainstay on the Steelers' offensive line. For the third consecutive year he didn't play in the season opener but received his position as the starting guard the next week in a 24–0 victory over the Seattle Seahawks. After sitting out the next week, he returned in Week 4 against the Houston Texans and remained the starter for the rest of the season.
The Steelers finished atop the AFC North with a 12–4 record and Foster went on to play in Super Bowl XLV and eventually lost to the Green Bay Packers. He finished 2011 with a career-high 14 games started in 15 games played.
2012
Following the Super Bowl loss the previous season, Foster played in his first season opener of his career against the Denver Broncos in 2012. This also marked his first full season playing and starting at guard.
2013
In 2013, he started all but one game. The Steelers kept Foster out due to injury during a Week 11 matchup against the Detroit Lions. On March 11, 2013, the Steelers announced they had signed Foster to a new contract after showing promise the last two seasons.[6] It was reportedly a three-year, $5.5 million contract with $900,000 guaranteed and $900,000 signing bonus.[7]
2014-present
The next season, he missed two games during the 2014 regular season. He returned to his starting role during a Week 5 victory at the Jacksonville Jaguars. Throughout the 2014-2015 season he has started over 25 games in a row.
In his 7 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers he has appeared in 99 games, started 84, and has missed 13.
References
- ↑ Ramon Foster Makes All-Mayday Team
- ↑ NFL.com NFL Combine: Ramon Foster
- ↑ Steelers Sign Thirteen Rookie Free Agents
- ↑ "NFLdraftscout.com's Prospect profile:Ramon Foster".
- ↑ "NFL Player Profile:Ramon Foster".
- ↑ Jameson Hemsley. "Steers surprisingly re-sign Ramon Foster". Retrieved March 11, 2013.
- ↑ Sportrac.com. "Pittsburgh Steelers:Ramon Foster contract".