Foreman Finds a New Home

He was out of work for half the 2021 NFL season but became a productive option on offense when Derrick Henry was injured.

The Tennessee Titans were fortunate that D’Onta Foreman was available when Derrick Henry was injured midway through the 2021 NFL season.

They won’t be so lucky if they find themselves in a similar situation in 2022.

Foreman, who topped 100 rushing yards in three of last season’s final six games, has agreed to a reported one-year, $2 million deal with the Carolina Panthers, according to reports Tuesday afternoon. He finished the season with 566 rushing yards (in nine games), which was 145 yards more than he had in his first four NFL seasons combined and the most by a Titans’ second-leading rusher since DeMarco Murray ran for 659 in 2017, his second season as part of a running back tandem with Henry.

The #Panthers are signing RB D'Onta Foreman, source said.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 15, 2022

Foreman combined with Dontrell Hilliard to help the Titans remain one of the NFL’s best running teams even without two-time rushing champion Henry. Two of Tennessee’s top three rushing performances of 2021 came when Henry was on injured reserve, and the Titans finished fifth in the league in rushing offense.

Carolina finished 20th in the NFL in rushing offense last season, and its leading rusher, rookie Chuba Hubbard, finished with 612 yards.

Foreman, 25, officially will be a free agent (the same is true for Hilliard) when the NFL’s new contract year begins on Wednesday. Unlike in recent years, though, he won’t have to wait for an opportunity.

Last year, Foreman joined the Atlanta Falcons during the preseason, was cut prior to the start of the regular season and remained unsigned until early November, when Henry went on injured reserve.

Foreman first joined the Titans three weeks into the 2020 season, when he was signed to the practice squad. His first game for Tennessee was in Week 8 of that season, and it was his first regular-season appearance in nearly two years.

In 15 games for Tennessee, he rushed for 661 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry.

A third-round pick by Houston in 2017, he played in 11 games for the Texans over two seasons before he was waived during the 2019 preseason. He rushed for 326 yards and two touchdowns and averaged 3.8 yards per carry with Houston.