Greatest running backs in Pittsburgh Steelers history: #5. Barry Foster
His tenure in the Steel City may not have been long at all, but Barry Foster climbs high on this list because he set two records in 1992 for the storied franchise.
A fifth-round pick in 1990 out of Arkansas, Foster spent two seasons as a backup before being named the starting running back by Bill Cowher — who was taking over as head coach for Chuck Noll, who had just finished up his 23-year career as the Steelers head coach.
Foster proved to be a great choice by Cowher, as he had 2,034 yards from scrimmage that season. On the ground, he ran the ball 390 times for 1,690 yards and 11 touchdowns, while adding 344 yards on 36 receptions. He then ran another 104 yards in their lone playoff game that season, but couldn’t help the team advance in the postseason.
Still, the yardage total he had that season puts him at No. 1 overall in Pittsburgh history. He also topped 100 yards on the ground 12 times that year, which is also a Pittsburgh record.
At the time, it was also a league record, as he tied Eric Dickerson’s 1984 campaign with the Los Angeles Rams. Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions topped that in 1997 when he accomplished the feat 14 times, but Foster still sits in second place all time.
Unfortunately, his career didn’t last long after that, as the insane amount of touches took their toll — as is often the case when a player tops 400 touches in a season.
Foster was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 1995, but the injuries were too much and he was cut by the expansion team. He attempted a comeback with the Cincinnati Bengals, but that was also short-lived and he never played again.