Robert Foster (American football)

Robert Foster Jr. (born May 7, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Washington Football Team of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama and signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Robert Foster
Foster with Washington in 2020
No. 19 – Washington Football Team
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-05-07) May 7, 1994
Monaca, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Central Valley (Monaca)
College:Alabama
Undrafted:2018
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Restricted free agent
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Receptions:32
Receiving yards:642
Receiving touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Foster attended Central Valley High School in Monaca, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, where he played both football and basketball.[1] While on the way to a football camp, he survived a shooting in which one of his teammates was killed.[2][3] Coming out of high school, Foster was the nation's No. 2 receiver ranked 23rd overall in the 2013 class.[4]

College career

During his redshirt sophomore season in 2015, Foster suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after catching 10 receptions 116 yards and two touchdowns in the first three games. He was limited in 2016 and considered transferring before deciding to stay with Alabama.[5]

In 2017, he caught 14 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown.[6] Overall, he caught 35 passes for 389 yards and three scores during his career at Alabama.[7]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand size40-yard dash20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jump
6 ft 1 58 in
(1.87 m)
196 lb
(89 kg)
32 18 in
(0.82 m)
9 14 in
(0.23 m)
4.41 s4.20 s6.90 s31.0 in
(0.79 m)
9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)
All values from NFL Combine[8]

Despite limited college statistics, Foster was invited to the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine due to his athleticism. He clocked a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, fifth overall among receivers.[5]

2018

Foster signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018, reuniting with Brian Daboll, his one-time offensive coordinator at Alabama.[9][3] In Week 2, against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his first two professional receptions, which went for 30 yards.[10] He was waived on October 18, 2018 and was re-signed to the practice squad.[11] He was promoted to the active roster on November 10, 2018.[12]

Foster recorded his first 100-yard receiving game against the New York Jets on November 11, finishing with 105 yards on three receptions.[13] Against the Jacksonville Jaguars two weeks later following the Bills' bye week, he recorded his first receiving touchdown, a 75-yard pass from Josh Allen. Foster finished that game with two receptions for 94 yards and the touchdown.[14][15] In Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins he only caught one pass for 27 yards.[16] In the next game against the New York Jets on December 9, he made a career high seven catches on eight targets for 104 yards.[17] Against the Detroit Lions the following week, Foster excelled again, catching four passes for 108 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown from Allen, en route to a 14–13 Bills win.[18] In the season finale, Foster caught four passes for 21 yards and a touchdown in a 42–17 win over Miami.[19]

Foster mentioned being cut from the team, demoted to the practice squad, and being brought back again as a "wake-up call" that sparked his late-season success.[15][20] He finished his rookie season with 27 receptions for 541 yards and 3 touchdowns while averaging 20 yards per reception and was named by Pro Football Focus to its all-rookie team as an offensive flex player.[21]

2019

Foster was sparsely used in the Bills offense during his second professional season, as the team added veterans John Brown and Cole Beasley during the offseason. He also struggled with injuries during preseason.[22] Foster caught just three of 18 targets for 64 yards, and was made inactive during the Bills' playoff game against the Houston Texans in favor of Duke Williams. He also rushed twice for 29 yards.[23]

2020

On April 2, 2020, Foster was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Bills. He was waived as part of final roster cuts on September 5, 2020.[24]

Green Bay Packers

On September 9, 2020, Foster was signed to the Green Bay Packers' practice squad.[25]

Washington Football Team

On October 22, 2020, Foster was signed off the Packers' practice squad by the Washington Football Team.[26]

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Robert Foster
YearTeamGPGSRecYardsYPRTDsLNG
2018BUF 1332754120.0375
2019BUF 13236421.3024
2020WSH 4223719.5028
Totals3073264220.0375

References

  1. "Central Valley grad, Alabama WR Robert Foster recovering after automobile accident". The Times. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  2. "8 random facts about Alabama wide receiver Robert Foster". AL.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. Maiorana, Sal (July 30, 2018). "Rookie Robert Foster survived attack by gunman and is cherishing life with Buffalo Bills". Democrat and Chroonicle. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  4. "Robert Foster recalls learning under AJ McCarron, why they can laugh about it now". AL.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  5. "NFL Draft & Combine Profile – Robert Foster". National Football League.
  6. "Robert Foster 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  7. "Robert Foster Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  8. "Robert Foster Combine Profile". National Football League. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  9. "What you need to know about the Bills undrafted free agents". BuffaloBills.com. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018.
  10. "Bills' Robert Foster: Involved in offense". CBSSports.com. September 17, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  11. Brown, Chris (October 18, 2018). "Bills promote WR Phillips from practice squad". BuffaloBills.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  12. "Bills call-up WR Robert Foster; Tremaine Edmunds expected to play". BuffaloBills.com. November 10, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  13. "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets – November 11th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  14. "Bills' Robert Foster: Speeds past Jaguars". CBS Sports. November 25, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  15. "Bills' Robert Foster starts to catch on given 2nd chance". Fox Sports. Associated Press. November 28, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  16. "Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins – December 2nd, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  17. "New York Jets at Buffalo Bills – December 9th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  18. "Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills – December 16th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  19. "Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills – December 30th, 2018". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  20. Brown, Chris (January 14, 2019). "Robert Foster relied on tunnel vision and work ethic to deliver a breakout rookie season". buffalobills.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  21. Mellor, Cam (January 3, 2019). "The 2018 NFL All-Rookie Team". profootballfocus.com. Pro Football Focus. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  22. "Sean McDermott reveals Robert Foster injury". Bills Wire. August 26, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  23. "Robert Foster, WR, Buffalo Bills". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  24. "Robert Foster: Cut by Buffalo". CBSSports.com. September 5, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  25. "Packers sign WR Foster and Lb Harris to practice squad". Packers.com. September 9, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  26. "Washington Signs WR Robert Foster, Releases TE Marcus Baugh". WashingtonFootball.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
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