D’Onta Foreman’s one season with the Tennessee Titans served him well.
It connected him with then-offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who is now head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Monday, the Falcons signed Foreman in one of several roster moves.
The Titans and Falcons face each other in the preseason opener for both, Friday at Atlanta.
“We just continue to make sure we’re good to go in the preseason, adding competition,” Smith said Monday. “Obviously, I worked with (Foreman) last year in Tennessee. I saw some things that I liked and wanted to see where he was at.
“The way things worked out, guys are a little nicked up. So, he’s going to have an opportunity this weekend to at least carry the football.”
Coincidentally, one of Tennessee’s leading contenders to be Derrick Henry’s primary backup this season is Brian Hill, who was the Falcons’ second-leading rusher last season. It is likely that Hill will get plenty of carries against his former team Friday as well.
Foreman was scheduled to be a restricted free agent this offseason. He became unrestricted when Tennessee opted not to retain his rights with a qualifying offer.
The 25-year-old running back signed with the Titans nearly a month into the 2020 NFL season and ultimately appeared in six games. He rushed for 95 yards on 22 carries and scored his first touchdown in nearly two years on a five-yard reception (his only catch of the year) against the Indianapolis Colts.
He was Tennessee’s fourth-leading rusher behind Henry, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Jeremy McNichols.
Atlanta will be Foreman’s fourth different NFL team. A third-round pick in 2017 by Houston, he spent two years with the Texans and was with the Indianapolis Colts for part of the 2019 offseason.
He has appeared in just seven regular-season games since his rookie season.
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