Former UDFA Arian Foster reflects on Saints, Texans bidding war
Before he became the Texans' all-time rushing leader, Arian Foster almost signed with the Saints. Sean Payton wasn't exactly pleased by his decision.
Few teams cultivated a reputation for turning up diamonds in the rough like the New Orleans Saints under Sean Payton -- particularly at running back. Whether it was Pierre Thomas, Chris Ivory, Khiry Robinson or other underdogs, Payton and his coaches always seemed to find someone who set themselves apart after the draft. Not that it stopped him from spending heavy resources on rushers like Reggie Bush and Mark Ingram II.
One name who almost joined the list? None other than Arian Foster, the Houston Texans ' all-time leading rusher. Before turning pro, he played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers , rushing for a dozen touchdowns and 1,193 yards in 2007 before taking a step back in the rotation during his senior year at Rocky Top.
He ended up going undrafted. And that's where things got interesting. Foster reflected on the experience during his Macrodosing w/ PFT & Arian Foster YouTube show : "Yeah, it was like a bidding war.
It was between um, the Saints, that's when Sean Payton was there. He wanted me really bad and I say really bad as much as you can want an undrafted free agent. But I think what happened was they knew like, yo, this is a steal.