Robert Foster (American football)

Robert Foster Jr. (born May 7, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Alabama.

Robert Foster
No. 16 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Wide receiver
Personal information
Born: (1994-05-07) May 7, 1994
Monaca, Pennsylvania
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:196 lb (89 kg)
Career information
High school:Central Valley
(Monaca, Pennsylvania)
College:Alabama
Undrafted:2018
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Receptions:30
Receiving yards:605
Receiving touchdowns:3
Player stats at NFL.com

Early life

Foster attended Central Valley High School in Monaca, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh, where he played both football and basketball.[1] While on the way to a football camp, he survived a racially-motivated shooting in which one of his teammates was killed.[2][3] Coming out of high school, Foster was the nation's No. 2 receiver ranked 23rd overall in the 2013 class.[4]

College career

During his redshirt sophomore season in 2015, Foster suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after catching 10 receptions 116 yards and two touchdowns in the first three games. He was limited in 2016 and considered transferring before deciding to stay with Alabama.[5]

In 2017, he caught 14 passes for 174 yards and one touchdown.[6] Overall, he caught 35 passes for 389 yards and three scores during his career at Alabama.[7]

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 1 5⁄8 in
(1.87 m)		 196 lb
(89 kg)		 32 1⁄8 in
(0.82 m)		 9 1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		 4.41 s 4.20 s 6.90 s 31.0 in
(0.79 m)		 9 ft 8 in
(2.95 m)
All values from NFL Combine[8]

Despite limited college statistics, Foster was invited to the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine due to his athleticism. He clocked a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, fifth overall among receivers.[5]

2018

Foster signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent on May 11, 2018, reuniting with Brian Daboll, his one-time offensive coordinator at Alabama.[9][3] In Week 2, against the Los Angeles Chargers, he recorded his first two professional receptions, which went for 30 yards.[10] He was waived on October 18, 2018 and was re-signed to the practice squad.[11] He was promoted to the active roster on November 10, 2018.[12]

Foster recorded his first 100-yard receiving game against the New York Jets on November 11, finishing with 105 yards on three receptions. Against the Jacksonville Jaguars two weeks later following the Bills' bye week, he recorded his first receiving touchdown, a 75-yard pass from Josh Allen. Foster finished that game with two receptions for 94 yards and the touchdown.[13][14] In week 13 against the Miami Dolphins he only caught 1 ball for 27 yards. Then the next game against the New York Jets on December 9 he made a career high 7 catches on 8 targets for 104 yards. Against the Detroit Lions the following week, Foster excelled again, catching 4 balls for 108 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown from Allen, en route to a 14-13 Bills win. In the season finale, Foster caught four passes for 21 yards and a touchdown in a 42-17 win over Miami.

Foster mentioned being cut from the team, demoted to the practice squad, and being brought back again as a "wake-up call" that sparked his late-season success.[14][15] He finished his rookie season with 27 receptions for 541 yards and 3 touchdowns while averaging 20 yards per reception and was named by Pro Football Focus to its all-rookie team as an offensive flex player.[16]

2019

Foster was sparsely used in the Bills offense during his second professional season, as the team added veterans John Brown and Cole Beasley during the offseason. He also struggled with injuries during preseason.[17] Foster caught just 3 of 18 targets for 64 yards, and was made inactive during the Bills' playoff game against the Houston Texans in favor of Duke Williams. He also rushed twice for 29 yards.[18]

2020

On April 2, 2020, Foster was re-signed to a one-year contract by the Bills.

NFL statistics
Robert Foster
YearTeamGPRecYardsYPRTDsLNG
2018BUF 132754120.0375
2019BUF 336421.3024
Totals163060520.2375
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References
  1. "Central Valley grad, Alabama WR Robert Foster recovering after automobile accident". The Times. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  2. "8 random facts about Alabama wide receiver Robert Foster". AL.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  3. Maiorana, Sal (July 30, 2018). "Rookie Robert Foster survived attack by gunman and is cherishing life with Buffalo Bills". Democrat and Chroonicle. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  4. "Robert Foster recalls learning under AJ McCarron, why they can laugh about it now". AL.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  5. "NFL Draft & Combine Profile — Robert Foster". NFL.com.
  6. "Robert Foster 2017 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  7. "Robert Foster Career Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  8. "Robert Foster Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  9. "What you need to know about the Bills undrafted free agents". BuffaloBills.com. May 11, 2018. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018.
  10. "Bills' Robert Foster: Involved in offense". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  11. Brown, Chris (October 18, 2018). "Bills promote WR Phillips from practice squad". BuffaloBills.com.
  12. "Bills call-up WR Robert Foster; Tremaine Edmunds expected to play". BuffaloBills.com. November 10, 2018.
  13. "Bills' Robert Foster: Speeds past Jaguars". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  14. "Bills' Robert Foster starts to catch on given 2nd chance". The Associated Press. FOX Sports. November 28, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  15. Brown, Chris. "Robert Foster relied on tunnel vision and work ethic to deliver a breakout rookie season". www.buffalobills.com. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  16. Mellor, Cam. "The 2018 NFL All-Rookie Team". www.profootballfocus.com. Pro Football Focus. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  17. "Sean McDermott reveals Robert Foster injury". Bills Wire. August 26, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  18. "Robert Foster, WR, Buffalo Bills". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
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