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Arian Foster revealed that the New Orleans Saints and Houston Texans were in a bidding war for him as an undrafted free agent. Ultimately, he chose the Texans due to their roster and system fit over the Saints' established running backs.
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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. It was just, (the scenes). It was between the Saints, the Texans, and I think the all wanted me.
The New Orleans Saints, Houston Texans, and New York Jets were all interested in Arian Foster.
Foster chose the Texans because he believed he had a better chance to secure a starting position due to their less rotational running back system compared to the Saints.
Arian Foster rushed for 1,193 yards and 12 touchdowns during his college career with the Tennessee Volunteers.
Sean Payton was upset when Foster chose the Texans, expressing frustration that they did not draft him.

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"And so I remember I originally said I was going to the Saints and then Houston offered me a little bit more money and then I was like, well, let's just look at their roster. So we pulled up their rosters and I think the Saints had Reggie Bush, Deuce McAllister. I think no, no, no. And I think they had one more (Pierre Thomas). They roster was stacked and I know they like to rotate their backs a lot. Houston had Steve Slaton, Chris Brown, Ryan Moats, which, I thought I was better than all of them. And I knew the system that Houston ran. It was less of a rotational running back by committee thing and it was more like 'if you can get the spot, you got the spot.' And so I was like, I'm going to take my chances over here. And then Sean Payton called back. He was mad. I was like, (expletive) you. You should have drafted me, dog. What are you mad for?"
It's the kind of thing that could lead to a feisty history. While he wasn't involved in the fisticuffs himself, Foster's Texans teammates got into a couple of fights with the Saints during joint practices that summer. For his part, Foster felt it was all business. He added, "The offer wasn't crazy, it's like (New Orleans) offered like $5,000 and the Texans offered like $7,500 or something like that. But it was like a, you go back and forth and at the time coming out of college, I ain't never seen five grand before. I ain't never seen $7,500, you know what I'm saying? So I was like, that swayed me, but then I was, okay, let's not get caught up in the little money thing. Let's get caught up in what option would be best for me. And clearly Houston was the better option for me."
Foster averaged an impressive 4.5 yards per carry across 76 games with the Texans, totaling a franchise-record 6,472 rushing yards with 54 touchdown runs. Those numbers would have led the Saints, too, at least until Alvin Kamara came onto the scene (also from Tennessee). If Foster had been running hard in 2010 for New Orleans (he posted a career-best 1,616 rushing yards and 16 touchdown runs in Houston), you'd think they wouldn't have traded up for Ingram in the 2011 draft. How Foster, Bush, and free agent pickup Darren Sproles would have coexisted is anyone's guess.
But there aren't many regrets here. Foster got the bell-cow role he wanted (and a new contract extension that paid him more than $35 million after that initial guarantee of $7,500). The Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, and went on to field one of the NFL's most explosive offenses in 2011. They did trade up for Ingram, and he eventually climbed to the top of the team's leaderboards just like Foster did in Houston. The difference is an even greater rusher came along when Kamara joined Ingram in the Saints' backfield. It's a fun what-if, but things worked out pretty well for all involved.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Former Texans UDFA Arian Foster on beef with Saints coach Sean Payton