8:49pm: Foster’s three-year deal is worth a modest $9.6MM, according to Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com, who tweets that the guarantee is only $2.75MM.
WEDNESDAY, 7:33am: Foster has signed a new three-year contract to remain with the Steelers, tweets Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
TUESDAY, 8:33pm: Foster will in fact be re-signing with the Steelers, according to Rand Getlin of NFL.com (Twitter link).
7:27pm: The Steelers are finalizing a new contract with guard Ramon Foster, reports Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link). Foster was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday.
[RELATED: PFR previews the Steelers’ offseason]
Foster has been a mainstay along Pittsburgh’s offensive line during the past five years, averaging 15 starts per season during that time. The 30-year-old Foster is not only durable, but productive, as he graded as the league’s No. 16 guard last season, per Pro Football Focus. Per La Canfora, retaining Foster was a “priority” for the Steelers, who have been quietly negotiating a new contract.
Foster isn’t the only key free agent along the Steelers’ front five, as left tackle Kelvin Beachum is also set to hit the open market tomorrow. Beachum, who is recovering from an ACL tear, could still find a long list of suitors despite having recently suffered a serious injury.
Pittsburgh isn’t usually active in free agency, but if Foster is in fact retained, he’ll mark the fourth Steeler to re-sign in the past two days. He’d join safeties William Gay (link) and Robert Golden (link), and receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (link).
For his part, Foster was listed among the honorable mentions in PFR’s Top 50 Free Agents list.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Great signing! Welcome back Ramon
I’m surprised they have done this much in free agency, even if it is their own players. Could be a good sign and hopefully there’s more to come.
I think the guys are making room for what the team needs. Foster, Gay and even the Green deal are all market friendly deals for the coming season. Perhaps they have enough still to go after Weddle or a CB
I hope so. I’d love to see Weddle in a Steelers uniform for the next couple years. It seems like majority of their players have always been like that, they always have 2-4 guys restructure contracts to free up some money for the team to get players.
This deal is SUPER team friendly. Ramon could have easily gotten 15 mill for 3 years elsewhere. The guy grades out highly and is a workhorse. Offensive linemen with his productivity and durability get a heck of a lot more than 2.75 guaranteed money and just shy of 10 mill total for 3 years at the age of 30. KUDOS TO RAMON for being dedicated to Ben, the rest of his teammates, the Black and Gold, and this fan base!
And btw, even though signing Beachum would be nice, if he isn’t willing to follow suit and sign a team friendly deal, then I don’t think we should overpay to keep him. Quite frankly I think Villanueva played absolutely INCREDIBLE last year, and I would have ZERO problems with him starting at left tackle to open the season unless you could find someone significantly better for cheaper than Beachum on a discount that will outplay Villy…which quite frankly will be a darn tough thing to find for as solid as he was all season long. Honestly, I’m not even sure if Beachum is in fact resigned that he gets his job back in defacto fashion, Villy may be given the opportunity to beat him outs for the job in camp, which in my opinion is highly likely that he would beat him out anyway. As I type this, I’m actually starting to lean towards letting Beachum walk and putting his cap money towards trying to snag up Weddle.
I also want to see the Steelers trade up on draft day to get the cornerback from FSU…that kid is a stud and could make the steelers defense better instantly by giving them a true shutdown corner…something they haven’t had in several years. I guess the closest thing they had was a young Ike Taylor…but this kid from FSU actually has hands and will actually intercept passes in addition to being a shutdown corner…cause let’s face it…Ike couldn’t intercept balls that were underhanded to him…lol
Is like to see that too but it’s going to be very hard to trade up far enough to get Ramsey or even Hargreaves. I think they’ll stay where they are and hopefully get William Jackson or Eli Apple. Both would get great additions