D. J. Foster


Darryll James "D. J." Foster is an American football running back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He played college football at Arizona State University. He signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2016. He was a member of the Super Bowl LI winning Patriots, though was inactive for the game itself.

High school career

Foster attended Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he rushed for more than 5,000 yards in his career. As a senior, he set an Arizona state single-season record with 60 total touchdowns, and also set state marks for rushing yards in a game, touchdowns in a game, touchdowns in a career, points in a career and points in a season. He helped lead his team to the Arizona Division III State Championship to cap off his high school career. He was chosen by the Arizona Republic as the Big Schools Player of the Year in 2011, and also was named the 2011 Tribune Football Player of the Year by the East Valley Tribune.
Considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com, he was rated as the 5th best athlete prospect of his class, and drew comparisons to Greg Jennings. On January 27, 2012, he announced his commitment to Arizona State over offers from Cal, Nebraska, Oregon, and USC.

College career

Freshman season

He played in all 13 games, making one start. He scored his first career touchdown against Missouri. He finished second on the team in all-purpose yardage with 1,026 yards, and recorded six total touchdowns.

Sophomore season

He entered the season ready for an increased role with the team. He led the nation in receiving yards by a running back and was second overall on the team. He finished second on the team in all-purpose yardage and ranked second on the team in receptions. He totaled 10 total touchdowns for the season. He had ASU’s only touchdowns against Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship.

Junior season

Following the departure of Marion Grice, Foster took over as the main back and offensive weapon for the Sun Devils. On the season, he had 194 carries for 1,081 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to go along with 62 receptions for 688 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Senior season

On December 30, 2014, Foster announced he would return to Arizona State for his senior season as a wide receiver. Overall, on the 2015 season, he had 59 receptions for 584 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns to go along with 55 carries for 280 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.

Statistics

Professional career

Coming out of Arizona State, Foster was projected by many analysts to be either a fifth round selection or priority free-agent. He was ranked the 23rd best running back out of the 204 available by NFLDraftScout.com.
Foster went undrafted in the 2016 NFL Draft, and was signed by the Patriots as a rookie free agent.

New England Patriots

On September 3, 2016, Foster was announced to have made the Patriots final 53-man roster and he made his professional debut on September 18, 2016 in the Patriots 31–24 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. He was released by the Patriots on November 28, 2016, and was re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on December 3, 2016. On February 5, 2017, Foster's Patriots appeared in Super Bowl LI. He was inactive for the game. In the game, the Patriots trailed 28–3 in the third quarter, but rallied all the way back to win the game by a score of 34–28 against the Atlanta Falcons, in a game that featured the first overtime game and largest comeback in Super Bowl history.
Foster was released by the Patriots on September 2, 2017 and signed to the practice squad the next day.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 12, 2017, Foster was signed by the Arizona Cardinals off the Patriots' practice squad. In the 2017 season, he appeared in seven games and had 17 receptions for 133 receiving yards.
On August 27, 2018, Foster suffered a torn MCL and ACL in the Cardinals' third preseason game and was ruled out for the season.
On October 28, 2019, Foster was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
On March 27, 2020, Foster re-signed with the Cardinals.