Ramon Foster is hanging up the cleats after an 11-year career, all with the Steelers.
Monday, Foster posted the following statement to his Instagram, along with a photo of a letter which simply states, "I hereby notify the Steelers that I am retiring." with his signature:
The text accompanying Foster's post detailed his journey from the University of Tennessee to his long career with the Steelers, all starting as an undrafted free agent in 2009.
"When the time comes, you just know and now is a time for me to take a bow," Foster writes. "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."
Foster then handed out thank-yous, beginning with his family.
"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 [Maurkice Pouncey], [Ben Roethlisberger], [Alejandro Villanueva], [David DeCastro] and Gil [Marcus Gilbert] (I know he’s not there but he’s an OG) we all grew up together and I’ve enjoyed every minute of that."
Then, some reflection.
"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 source told our Dale Lolley earlier Monday the Steelers were shopping Foster in a trade and were likely to release him by the start of the new league year Wednesday if they did not find a partner. Now, Foster made that decision easier.
"I want to congratulate Ramon on his career in Pittsburgh," Mike Tomlin said in a statement. "Ramon was class in every way, professional in every way, and I think his career is indicative of what this professional football journey should be about. He went from being an undrafted free agent to giving us over a decade of service at an extremely high level. I am honored to be associated with him and wish he and his family the best of luck in his retirement."
