Ramon Foster career retrospective

A look back on the career of the Pittsburgh Steelers guard.

Guard Ramon Foster announced his retirement Monday after an 11-year career all spent with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had one year left on his contract and was likely to become a salary cap casualty.

“When the time comes, you just know and now is a time for me to take a bow,” Foster posted on Instagram. “I’ve had a long, fun, and life changing career. Who would have ever thought an undrafted kid out of the University of Tennessee would make it in the NFL for 11 years. I’ve made some friends for a lifetime, had some moments that I’ll never forget and seen some things I never thought I would because of this game.”

Signing with the Steelers in 2009 as an undrafted rookie free agent, Foster moved into the starting lineup in his third season. He started at right guard in the 2011 Super Bowl versus the Green Bay Packers.

Foster, 34, had been a mainstay on the offensive line and was the second longest-tenured player behind only Ben Roethlisberger.

A product of the University of Tennessee, Foster started 145 of the 160 games he played in, both of which rank as second-most in team history at the position.

As the Steelers’ NFLPA representative, his last duty was voting on the newly-approved CBA.

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When the time comes, you just know and now is a time for me to take a bow. I’ve had a long, fun and life changing career. Who would have ever thought an undrafted kid out of the University of Tennessee would make it in the NFL for 11 years. I’ve made some friends for a lifetime, had some moments that I’ll never forget and seen some things I never thought I would because of this game. I’d like to first thank my wife for supporting me through this experience and I know for sure you are my number 1 fan. My sons, who were raised in this league from birth so far, they went from being the youngest in the locker room to the oldest. To the Steelers organization, thank you to Coach Tomlin, Mr. Rooney, Ambassador Rooney, and Kevin Colbert for making Pittsburgh feel like a family. All the coaches who I’ve had the opportunity to run into or be coached by in the organization, thank you. To the staff, secretaries, cooks, janitors, John Norwig and his training staff for caring the way you guys have, Coach Giemont and Marcell for always being who you guys are, I love it. My trainer James Wilson, thanks for getting me ready every year even though I hated you everyday lol. Father Paul, thanks for always being a friend and support since the time I met you at St. Vincent in Latrobe, PA. The guys who I’ve played with over the years, I love you guys like brothers but of course Pouncey, Ben, Al, Dave and Gil(I know he’s not there but he’s an OG) we all grew up together and I’ve enjoyed every minute of that. From being one of the “worst” OLs in the league to having one of the best OLs in all of sports while helping lead one of the best offenses in the NFL. To the fans thank you for being the best fan bases in the world, the passion comes out in all kind of ways. I could go on and on and will thank a lot of you personally. I’m glad to say, a Steeler for life, no other organization I would have rather played for and I hope my time was just as enjoyable as yours. Young guys, enjoy what you can get from this league, don’t just play the game, learn the game, learn the business and be better than when you came into this league. A time will come when we all write up a farewell 2 this chapter

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