Can Robert Foster catch on in crowded Giants wide receiver room?

At some point, our player-by-player profiles of the New York Giants’ 90-man roster will touch on a veteran who is not a former Buffalo Bill. That day is not today.

Wide receiver Robert Foster flashed big play potential in his rookie year with the Bills, but he has barely seen the field since then. Is there a role for him in New York?

By the numbers

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 196
Age: 28
Position: Wide receiver
Experience: 4 years
Contract: One-year, $965,000 | 2022 cap hit: $965,000

Career to date

Foster first met Brian Daboll at the University of Alabama, where Daboll was the offensive coordinator. Foster was one of the Tide’s starting receivers as a sophomore in 2015, but he was never the same after a shoulder injury that sidelined him for over a year.

Foster signed with Daboll and the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and impressed as a rookie. He had 27 catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns despite being a non-factor in his first six games. Most of those yards came from a trio of 100-yard games.

Since then, Foster has struggled to earn playing time. He spent 2019 with the Bills and 2020 with Washington, starting only two games each year. He had brief stints with the Cowboys and Dolphins last year, and the Giants signed him in free agency this March.

2022 outlook

Daboll obviously thinks highly of Foster; this is now the third time they will be part of the same team.

However, it has now been four years since Foster saw meaningful playing time. On a team with its eyes towards the future, it seems unlikely that he is more than a practice squad player.

New York began last season with seven wide receivers on its 53-man roster. They are currently carrying 12. Assuming Sterling Shepard, Kenny Golladay, Kadarius Toney, and Darius Slayton are all still on the team come September, that leaves potentially three spots up for grabs. It’s not crazy to see Foster making the cut, but he would have to stand out from existing depth pieces like C.J. Board and Collin Johnson.