Tag: Ramon Foster

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.

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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.

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Ramon Foster retires from NFL

Ramon Foster retires from NFL.

PITTSBURGH — Former University of Tennessee offensive lineman Ramon Foster has retired from the National Football League.

Foster joined the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played in 44 games in his Tennessee career and saw action in 160 contests with the Steelers.

The former Vol posted the following on Instagram.

“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.”

Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster send Ramon Foster love

Steelers players congratulate their former teammate on his retirement

Pittsburgh Steelers players took to Twitter Monday to congratulate their former teammate Ramon Foster on his retirement.

Foster retired Monday after 11 seasons with the Steelers. He was the second longest-tenured player behind Ben Roethlisberger.

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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.

View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Ramon Foster (@theramonfoster) on

Steelers guard Ramon Foster announces retirement on Instagram

The Steelers are losing one of the best guys in the NFL.

View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Ramon Foster (@theramonfoster) on

Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster went from an undrafted free agent to an 11-year pro with 145 career starts. A consummate pro and one of the genuinely good guys in the NFL, Foster was a pleasure to work with and will be missed on and off the field by fans and media alike. Foster shared the above message on his Instagram account on Monday.

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How will the new CBA effect the Steelers in free agency?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are over the salary cap heading into free agency, but the new CBA gives the team some breathing room.

General manager Kevin Colbert and his staff have been working through various scenarios with the Pittsburgh Steelers fragile salary cap position for months. The ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement – which is slated to take effect Wednesday – brings clarity to what is still a complicated situation.

Here’s the good news: The passage of the CBA eliminated the 30 percent rule, one that would’ve limited the amount of contract restructuring teams could do.

Here’s the bad news: The salary cap figure, $198.2 million, is significantly less than the $200 million-plus that was initially projected, and puts the Steelers $2.4 million in the red – according to OverTheCap.com.

Throughout the offseason, only the players with the 51 largest cap hits for the season will be counted toward the salary cap. The Steelers’ total cap number for their top 51 is roughly $204 million. This figure does not include any pending free agents (i.e., Mike Hilton, Matt Feiler, Zach Banner), nor does it cover the $16.26 million franchise tag that is likely to be placed on Bud Dupree.

There is plenty more that the total cap number for the top 51 does not incorporate, such as the rise in minimum salaries and rookie minimum wages. The cost of the expansion of rosters to 55 and practice squad to 12 players also adds to the cap number.

Colbert will need to get creative with the avenues toward cap-saving measures. Among the options will be to cut 2021 free agents Ramon Foster, Mark Barron, and Anthony Chickillo, and restructure contracts of key players like those of Ben Roethlisberger, Vance McDonald, Stephon Tuitt, and Joe Haden.

All clubs must be under the salary cap before the start of the 2020 league year and free agency, which begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. eastern.

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Ramon Foster a potential NFL cut candidate

Ramon Foster a potential NFL cut candidate.

Former University of Tennessee offensive lineman Ramon Foster signed a two-year, $8.25 million contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March 2019.

The Steelers are reportedly looking to free up salary cap space and Foster could be out in Pittsburgh.

Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz of USA TODAY mentioned the following in regards to Foster being a potential NFL cut candidate.

Steelers G Ramon Foster

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said keeping outside linebacker Bud Dupree would be a “priority” this offseason, but the roster requires some pruning to facilitate a franchise tag. A reasonable starting point might be saying goodbye to Foster, which would free up $4 million. At 34, he’s the oldest player on the offensive front and might be out of step with the rest of the unit’s youth movement.

Steelers G Ramon Foster talking like a guy prepared for free agency

The Steelers could release Ramon Foster this offseason.

After Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers guard Ramon Foster was asked about what his future might hold if the Steelers chose to release him during the offseason. Foster is one of the smartest guys on the team and his answer reflected the attitude he’s given this some thought and is preparing for what might be inevitable.

Foster’s contract is backloaded meaning if the Steelers choose to release him they would save $4 million. With cap money already tight for the upcoming offseason, this one could be a foregone conclusion considering how Foster struggled this season.

As an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee, Foster has built himself into a quality NFL starter. Over the course of his first 11 seasons, Foster has amassed 145 career starts. Are Foster’s days numbered with the Steelers?

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Steeler G Ramon Foster recognizes the value of Ben Roethlisberger

Ramon Foster talks about life without Ben Roethlisberger.

You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. That is the sentiment conveyed by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster after the team’s 16-10 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.

Foster offered up some wise words when he spoke to the media after the game about what it is like coming to the realization they no are playing without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“We’ve ridden a really good helicopter for a long, long time,” Foster said in reference to Roethlisberger. “Now we all see the significance of that position…People that complain about our guy, whenever he’s in, stop. We realize what it is now, ok?”

I guess I’m a little confused about the timeline of this revelation. Are the rest of the Steelers just realizing in Week 16 how much better this team is with Roethlisberger under center?  It’s easy to take it for granted when you have a future Hall of Fame quarterback leading your team. But if this revelation is a call to action for the Steelers, I wish it had come sooner.

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