Former UDFA Arian Foster reflects on Saints, Texans bidding war

"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