Arian Foster‘s emergence as a star was almost as sudden as his (likely) exit. An undrafted free agent in 2009, Foster rushed for 100 yards in his first start — in week 17 of the ’09 season. Then, in 2010, he led the NFL in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, beginning a five-year stretch of dominance.  A ruptured Achilles tendon ruined Foster’s season in 2015, and he signed with Miami yesterday; at 29, it’s fair to wonder if Foster has much left in the tank.  A one-year, $1.5M contract is a sign that the NFL isn’t too optimistic about his future.  But that doesn’t make his past any less incredible.

From 2010 to 2014, Foster played in 70 games. But in two of those games in 2013, injuries limited him to just 9 combined snaps. And in the season finale in 2014, a hamstring injury caused him to exit after 10 snaps. In those three games, Foster had a total of 9 carries for 34 yards.

In his other 67 games, including playoffs? His median rushing game was 100 yards! Foster averaged 97.5 rushing yards per game and 4.56 yards per carry. In those 67 games, he scored 68 touchdowns. Perhaps most incredible is that with 34 100-yard rushing games in that 5-year period, Foster set the record for hitting the century mark by an undrafted free agent. Priest Holmes had 32 such games, Willie Parker had 26, and no other player since 1960 had more than 16. ^[1]Foster holds the record with 35 games of at least 100+ rushing yards, once you include his week 17, 2009 performance.

During this five-year period, Foster rushed for 100 yards in 34 games, most in the NFL. Marshawn Lynch had 30 such games, but LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson were tied for third at a distant 23 games. Even after signing with Miami, it seems almost certain that we’ve already seen the last of the Foster we remember during his prime. He will always be in the discussion among the great undrafted free agent players, but not among the great running backs. Currently, he ranks “just” 72nd in career rushing yards. But he ranks 25th in career VBD and 41st in yards from scrimmage over worst starter, which are better measures of Foster’s dominance in his prime.

Please leave your Arian Foster thoughts in the comments. Foster will be remembered as part of the Mount Rushmore of undrafted running backs, with Holmes, Joe Perry, and …. well, there’s still one spot left on that mountain.