Tag: Ramon Foster

Former Steeler shoots down idea of adding FA quarterback

Ramon Foster does not to see the Steelers go full Cleveland. You never go full Cleveland.

When free agency starts, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have some serious decisions to make about the quarterback position. If the Steelers don’t feel confident in Kenny Pickett they could consider signing a big-time free agent or even trading for a veteran.

This is a move former Steelers offensive lineman Ramon Foster does not agree with. He talked about the situation on The Ramon Foster Show and said it felt “very Cleveland”

“Do you see Baltimore making these types of moves,” asked Foster. “Like this type of scrambling and searching for a franchise quarterback is very Cleveland of y’all to be asking this type of stuff,”

Foster continued to go on but in his next comment, I want to unpack one particular part.

“It is, it’s very Cleveland of you. Like go get your guy through the draft and you know he fits your DNA,” adds Foster.

 

Is Foster endorsing the Steelers drafting a quarterback this year and replacing Kenny Pickett? We don’t disagree with the premise and it really should be either or. If the Steelers go after a big-money veteran, you cannot draft a quarterback early and vice versa. Foster seems to be leaning hard away from risking it on a veteran and instead wants to start over, building around a new young quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Former Steelers OL Ramon Foster on the oline issues: ‘Who are the goons?’

Ramon Foster hit the nail on the head when he talked about the Steelers offensive line.

Ramon Foster joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. But that didn’t matter. Foster came from Tennessee with a nasty streak on the field and a work ethic you couldn’t imagine and parlayed that into a very successful 11-year career that included 145 starts.

Foster has turned to a career in media since his retirement and on The Fan Morning Show, he brought some reality to the subject of the Steelers offensive line woes. You can listen to Foster’s full comment by clicking on the post below but to summarize, Foster says this team doesn’t have the “goons” or the guy who are going to go out and push defensive lines around.

Make no mistake, Foster is right. Pittsburgh has invested a ton of resources into this offensive line but it hasn’t paid any real dividends. And a big part of that is because the Steelers haven’t focused on getting guys who play with the level of physicality we saw when Foster was around.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Ramon Foster suggests for ex-Steeler Vince Williams to sign with Titans

The Titans are in the market for an inside linebacker, and Williams would be a solid fit.

University of Tennessee product and former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Ramon Foster appears to be a fan of the Tennessee Titans going after recently-released inside linebacker and former Steeler, Vince Williams.

Williams was released by the Steelers on Tuesday, saving the team about $4 million in cap space for 2021. A former sixth-round pick, Williams had spent his entire eight-year career in Pittsburgh before becoming a cap casualty.

Foster took to Twitter on Tuesday to suggest Williams going to Nashville, where he could join his former teammate, outside linebacker Bud Dupree, who agreed to terms with Tennessee on Monday night.

UPDATE

This article and Foster’s suggestion were made prior to the Titans re-signing Jayon Brown, a move that was reported on Wednesday afternoon.

That makes a move for another inside linebacker unnecessary, unless of course the Titans are looking to move on from Rashaan Evans and intend to replace him with someone other than David Long. As of right now, there’s no indication that’s the plan.

Williams, 31, would be a solid option at the position if Tennessee decides to go that route. The veteran is a stellar run defender, a plus pass rusher up the gut and will likely come on a cheap, short-term deal.

[lawrence-related id=59306,59286,59255]

[listicle id=59167]

VFL Ramon Foster named co-host of Nashville morning sports talk show

Foster will bust out his broadcasting chops on Middle Tennessee mornings.

NASHVILLE — Former Tennessee and NFL offensive lineman Ramon Foster will be taking to the Nashville airwaves.

He was named co-host of a newly-branded morning show, “JMart & Ramon” on Cumulus Media’s 104.5 The Zone on Tuesday.

Foster will join host Jason Martin on weekdays from 6-9 a.m. CT. Martin took over the “Wake Up Zone” show in early August after longtime hosts Kevin Ingram and Mark Howard were let go from Cumulus.

Foster played on Tennessee’s offensive line from 2004-08 before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. The former Vol went on to enjoy a successful 10-year career with the Steelers before announcing his retirement in March.

He is a Henning, Tennessee native.

“JMart & Ramon” will hit the airwaves on Sept. 8.

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line ranking entering the 2020 season

Here’s a look at where PFF ranks the Steelers heading into the upcoming season.

The Steelers offensive line has been in the league’s top 10 for several years running, thanks to a limit on its moving parts. Unfortunately, they lost veteran guard Ramon Foster to retirement in the offseason. He had been slipping in productivity and was likely going to be released anyway. Nevertheless, the change will require a little shuffling.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked all 32 units entering the 2020 season and projected Pittsburgh at No. 9. PFF cites mainstays Alejandro Villanueva, David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey as reasons for their top 10 ranking. They duly noted that run blocking was an issue in 2019, and predict that rookie guard Kevin Dotson as one to keep an eye on to eventually replace Foster.

The Steelers signed Stefen Wisniewski — fresh off the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl team — in free agency. Wisniewski has been around the block a few times, and his experience will be valuable given the limited time the rookies will have in practices and preseason action this year.

If the Steelers can improve on their run blocking this season, I believe it’ll bump the o-line up a few spots.

[vertical-gallery id=470976]

[lawrence-related id=467749]

Steelers OC Randy Fichtner needs to show commitment to run game

A solid plan for the Pittsburgh Steelers run game will be necessary with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returning from injury.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 38, is coming off an elbow injury that abruptly ended his season Week 2 of the 2019 season. The operation on the elbow of his throwing arm involved reattaching three flexor tendons.

It’ll be in the Steelers best interest to bring Roethlisberger along slowly. Even though he’s said that he’s throwing without pain, it would be foolish to expect a return to the 42 attempts per-game from 2018. On average, Roethlisberger has thrown 36 times per game since 2014.

“Being so, so focused on passing the ball has never been a path to success for the Steelers or really anybody else,” said Aditi Kinkhabwala, Steelers reporter for NFL Network, on Around the NFL. “Look at what the Titans did a year ago or the 49ers — you need a run game.”

Tennessee and San Fransisco were both balanced offensively in 2019. The Titans pass-to-run plays ratio was 448/445, and the 49ers was 478/498. Contrastingly, the Steelers had 510 pass attempts to 395 run attempts.

“Since the Steelers changed offensive coordinators from Todd Haley to Randy Fichtner, they haven’t shown much propensity to want to run the ball,” said Kinkhabwala, who has been covering the Steelers since 2012.

Fichtner comes from a passing-game mindset — his career has been spent focusing on QBs and wide receivers. Since he arrived in Pittsburgh in 2007, he’s been instrumental in the development of Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, and Antonio Brown. So, it’s no surprise that Fichtner favors passing the ball to running it. But if the Steelers want Roethlisberger to remain effective in whatever time he has left with the team, they’d be wise to incorporate more rush attempts into the game plan.

The performance of the run game is obviously dependent on the performance of the offensive line, and last season the Steelers’ line simply didn’t play at the same level it did in 2018. The unit dropped eight spots from first to nine in the Pro Football Focus offensive line rankings.

Now-retired guard Ramon Foster accounted for 317 run plays in 2019 with a PFF grade of 52. Stefen Wisniewski, a free-agency signing this offseason, will likely start at guard this season. The most snap counts Wisniewski has taken since his rookie season (with the Oakland Raiders) was in 2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles when he was involved in 388 run plays with a PFF grade of 70.

While the level of involvement from fullback Derek Watt remains to be seen, the roster addition should help bolster the run game. In Watt’s last season in Los Angeles, he was part of 72 run plays with a blocking grade of 58.

Roethlisberger had a career year in 2018, as did his offensive line. If the line can return to ’18 form, it should speak volumes for running back James Conner, who put up his best numbers that same season.

But first, Fichtner has to make more of a commitment to integrating the diverse group of backs he has at his disposal.

[vertical-gallery id=465550]

[lawrence-related id=441184]

 

Mike Tomlin picks perfect team ambassador to speak to rookies

Ramon Foster is the perfect choice to help rookies understand what it takes to be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[jwplayer 1ZOGsVAB-ThvAeFxT]

He might be retired but there’s still no better person for the Pittsburgh Steelers to select to speak to the rookie class. Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media on Saturday and said he chose Foster to speak to the rookies on Friday to provide his wisdom for these young men transitioning into the NFL.

Foster’s journey in the NFL is a testament to any player who thinks they can’t make it. Foster went undrafted but the Steelers took a shot on him and the rest, as they say, is history. He spent the last 11 seasons with the Steelers and despite announcing his retirement earlier in the offseason, will always be part of the Steelers’ family.

The Steelers have had to make significant adjustments to their offseason along with all 32 NFL teams due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[vertical-gallery id=464462]

[lawrence-related id=464543]

Former Steeler Ramon Foster among Players Coalition requesting investigation into death of Ahmaud Arbery

Several professional athletes are demanding an FBI investigation into the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

[jwplayer trgV5MsK-ThvAeFxT]

Former Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster is among several dozen NFL players as part of the Players Coalition to request an investigation by the FBI into the death of Ahmaud Arbery.

Arbery was shot and killed in an incident involving Gregory and Travis McMichael on February 23rd. Both men have been arrested and charged with murder. The Players Coalition is an advocacy group consisting of former and current NFL and NBA players and coaches.

Foster came to the Steelers as a UDFA in 2009 and spent 11 seasons with the team. He was the starting guard for the last nine but chose suddenly to retire this offseason.

[vertical-gallery id=464578]

[lawrence-related id=464543]

Stefen Wisniewski officially signs with the Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially signed guard Stefen Wisniewski.

The Steelers made it official with guard Stefen Wisniewski on Wednesday.

According to Spotrac, Wisniewski signed a two-year, $2.85 million contract. It included a $375,000 signing bonus, $375,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $1.425 million. Wisniewski will earn a base salary of $1.05 million and a signing bonus of $375,000 while carrying a cap hit of $1.237 million and a dead cap value of $375,000.

A starter with both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the two-time Super Bowl-winning guard will fill the void vacated by Ramon Foster’s retirement.

[vertical-gallery id=460725]

[lawrence-related id=460663]

3 takeaways from the loss of B.J. Finney and Ramon Foster

Pittsburgh must scramble to replace two key offensive linemen.

In a span of 24 hours, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their starting left guard and the guy who would have replaced him in the starting lineup. Ramon Foster’s retirement was unexpected but B.J. Finney singing with the Seattle Seahawks was not.

What do these two big moves mean for an offense trying to get back on track this season? Here are our three big takeaways.

Matt Feiler might be switching positions

The easiest fix on the roster to fill the void at left guard is Matt Feiler. He’s been the team’s starting right tackle for the last season and 10 games but is a natural guard. Just looking at veteran depth on the team, there is much more at tackle than guard so the Steelers might find it easier to slide Feiler inside and let Zach Banner and Chuks Okorafor duke it out for the starting right tackle spot.

Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3