Arian Foster Retires: Latest Comments and Reaction

Miami Dolphins running back Arian Foster announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday.

UNINTERRUPTED shared a statement from Foster regarding the decision:

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, a lower-body injury was the tipping point for the 30-year-old:

Foster went undrafted out of Tennessee in 2009 and spent the first few months of his rookie season on the Houston Texans practice squad. Remarkably, he went on to become one of the league's most dynamic rushers for a five-year period.

Foster finishes his career with 6,527 rushing yards, 2,346 receiving yards and 68 total touchdowns across 80 career games. His best season came in 2010, when he tallied 2,220 yards from scrimmage and 18 scores to pace the Texans offense.

Injuries began to derail his career in 2013, though. He ended up sitting out 23 games between 2013 and 2015 as all of the hits began taking a toll on his body. He had missed just three games over the previous three seasons combined.

His 2015 campaign came to an end in October, after he suffered a torn Achilles. The Texans then released him in March.

Foster planned to keep playing despite the Achilles tear. His brother and trainer, Abdul Foster, told Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle in March the running back was making progress in his recovery and still had a desire to compete:

Foster ended up signing with the Dolphins in July. He earned the starting job coming out of training camp, but it only took one week before injuries became a problem again. He dealt with hamstring and groin issues during the early stages of the 2016 campaign.

Jay Ajayi's emergence over the past few weeks ensured Foster wasn't getting the starting job back even if he returned to 100 percent.

After he carried the ball three times in a Week 6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero questioned Foster's role with the team:

Foster ultimately decided the time had come to call it quits. Even if he would have liked to play a few more seasons, his consistent health issues made his production a question mark.

Furthermore, running backs rarely make a sustained impact after age 30 due to the punishment that comes with playing the position. So in addition to his own injury history, that trend was also working against Foster.