Just after noon on Wednesday, Ramon Foster was doing double duty, pedaling an exercise bike at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn., and talking football. He gets paid to do one of those things these days — and it’s not the exercise bike.
This week, Foster, who retired from the NFL earlier this spring after 11 seasons with the Steelers, started a second act in sports-talk radio. He drove into Nashville before sunrise Wednesday for his first show with co-host Jason Martin in the weekday 6-9 a.m. slot on 104.5 The Zone. Foster had a few jitters early, he admitted later, but once the football talk began, he was home.
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“I’ll catch my groove,” Foster told The Athletic.
Foster, 34, is a Tennessean through and through. “The Big Ragu” went to high school in Ripley, Tenn., then played college ball at Tennessee. He signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent, and by the end of his rookie season, he was starting. He started 145 regular-season games and 11 in the playoffs, including Super Bowl XLV. Foster always imagined he’d sign with the Titans at the end of his career, but he stayed with the Steelers. Once he retired in March, Foster — always a great interview in the locker room and a frequent guest on the air in Pittsburgh — decided to pursue media opportunities.
After his 104.5 The Zone debut Wednesday, Foster spoke with The Athletic about his transition to the post-NFL life. Here is that conversation.
Today is the day!
In-studio with @JMartRadio and @RamonFoster!
LET'S GOOOOOOOOO! pic.twitter.com/EZ1toeE25v
See AlsoRexrode: Tennessee Vols recruiting/portal work is a net gain, but there's more to thisHow De’Rail Sims is showing to be ‘definition of a home-run hire’ as new Vols RBs coach5-at-10: Mailbag with questions on Will Levis, Augusta National scoring | Chattanooga Times Free PressSchultz's Weekend Predictions: On Georgia's finish, Nick Saban's fall— JMart and Ramon (@JMartandRamon) September 9, 2020
How did this radio opportunity come about?
I’ve always thought that you have to have another plan. I didn’t mind being media-savvy with reporters and stuff like that. I just grew into it to where I enjoyed it. I’ll talk to a wall, my wife tells me sometimes. Being on air is something I enjoy. I’m an advocate for guys having a voice, too. A lot of guys play, and we as football players are not visible. People don’t see us. People don’t hear us. We’re just meatheads. You know? That’s how we get categorized. But there are a lot of intellectual guys in that league, and a lot of us don’t get the opportunity or that safe space to be able to have dialogue and communication to let people hear our thoughts. So, I’ve always been a guy who said, if you’ve got a shot, take it. That’s what I’m doing now.
How soon after leaving the NFL did you start making plans for what’s next?
I took probably a month or so off to unwind and let my body get out of football mode. I had an opportunity come out of Pittsburgh with DKPittsburghSports.com to write a weekly column. (Dejan Kovacevic) told me, “Just write out your thoughts. I’m going to give you free reign to write what you want to.” I’m a guy who actually enjoys writing, too, especially about my experiences. I’ve enjoyed that. What led to the opportunity here in Nashville is I’ve done some spot interviews with them in the studio and got a chance to know the guys. When they decided to make their shake-up, they involved me in that. I was excited.
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As a recent NFLer, what do you bring to the air that fans aren’t normally getting?
Perspective and understanding. Like, today we were talking about (Jadeveon) Clowney, and everybody was talking about his sack total. I was like, you guys don’t understand, sack totals are just an opportunity to justify your payment — from the GM, from the agent — and it gives (them) a settling feeling of being comfortable with paying someone a ton of money when their sacks show their production. A lot of people don’t understand that a guy like Clowney, he’s a disruptor. He might not make you 15 sacks a year. But you’ve got to devote two (blockers) to him. I don’t think people understand the importance of that. They want everybody to be a Von Miller or DeMarcus Ware or those type of guys. Hey, they run up sack numbers. But a lot of times sacks come from a team being way behind and having to throw all the time. It’s situational. That’s what I’m trying to enlighten people with. I’m not a huge stat guy, as far as saying, “They do this or that 40 percent of the time.” I think my experience is going to be what’s pivotal to the understanding of the listening crowd.
In the end, was retiring an easy decision or did you wrestle with it?
It’s been on my mind for about two years. … You know when that door is closing. I knew it. More than anything, I was a realist about the sport. It was never a problem for me about trying to hang on or linger. This past year, I just kind of felt it. Maybe the season that we had didn’t help with that feeling. You know? But this offseason I just hit a point where I was like, you know what, it’s taking a lot longer to recover. I’d recover in my early years on Tuesday. This past season, it was Friday night or Saturday when I felt normal. The reality is, you can push it and probably squeeze out one or two more (seasons), but if you save properly and plan accordingly, you can walk away.
.@RamonFoster these last 11 years have been a blast with you! Thank you for making football so much fun! Your passion as a football player, father and husband is something to behold. You are an inspiration to all of us. Love ya brother.#Steelers pic.twitter.com/aWb86bfq9U
— BigBen7.com (@_BigBen7) March 16, 2020
What was it like being stuck at home this spring and summer?
It’s been real chill, more than anything. Of course, with everything kind of shut down and our kids being on hybrid schedules, the main thing I was trying to do was find me another schedule. From seventh grade until March of this year, it’s been all football. That’s the schedule I needed. One thing I’ve always tried to do is to have relationships. Alejandro Villanueva is one of those dudes that pushed that on me in the sense of, like, man, a lot of guys struggle in their retirement because they either don’t have the schedule or they don’t have a good circle of friends around. Your quality of life is usually hugely revolved around the relationships you have. I’ve already established that here in Hendersonville, having a good group of people you can go out and have drinks with, have dinner with, have cookouts with. You know? That type of stuff.
Has this been a different level of dad mode, getting to your kids’ youth sports practices and games?
We usually did sports that were football-friendly — or my-schedule-friendly. If (my kids) were doing something, it was baseball in the fall or soccer, so I could go see their practices after games. The only thing that shocked me is that this is my first time in Tennessee in the months of August and September in 11 or 12 years. That’s the only big difference, I think. I’ve always been at their practices or involved. I’m now the designated catcher for my son’s pitching lessons. So, yeah, I’ve learned to be a catcher now.
Is there heat behind his fastball?
(Laughing) There is. So, my oldest is 12. He’s 5-11 already. Of course, the coaches all want him. And the thing is, he enjoys the training aspect of it. When he got with his pitching coach, he was throwing 55 (mph) at his low end. Now his low end is 60 within a month and a half, and his high end is 63 right now. He claims he wants to be 70 by December. We’ll see with all the work we’re putting in now.
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What intrigues you about being in the Nashville market right now?
I love it. It’s growing. We’re right in the middle of the growth right now. It’s becoming a city people come to. I just read an article that said they want to see if they can bring an MLB team here. There’s a lot going on. I’ll be honest, it really reminds me of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is where I spent most of my adult life so far. Nashville is really similar to it. Blue collar. People like to hit the bars and have a good time. There’s growth in the areas you need to see it in. So, I’m enjoying it.
Hey, thanks for taking time for this while you’re riding the bike.
No problem, man. Don’t tell anyone I was huffing and puffing.
(Top photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
Stephen J. Nesbitt is a senior MLB writer for The Athletic. He previously wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, covering the Pittsburgh Pirates before moving to an enterprise/features role. He is a University of Michigan graduate. Follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenjnesbitt. Follow Stephen J. on Twitter @stephenjnesbitt
