D'Onta Foreman is grateful to be alive and running again after a serious injury at the start of training camp

The touchdown was great.

D'Onta Foreman was grateful for so much more.

“I'm grateful to be able to run,” he said Saturday night after scoring a yard in the Browns' 27-12 preseason loss to the Vikings. “It's not just about playing football. I'm grateful to just be here, to be alive and to be able to be myself.”

“Things happen so fast in life, you just have to be grateful for every moment, every day, every situation. You have to be grateful for it and just try to do the best you can while you're here.”

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Foreman's perspective changed on August 1 during a routine training camp at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. One minute the veteran running back was doing a punt protection drill, and minutes later he was being stretchered out after experiencing neck pain – but he retained mobility in his arms and legs – and loaded into an ambulance.

Then came the helicopter ride that he will never forget.

“I've never flown in a helicopter before. To be in the helicopter in that situation, in that moment, was crazy. It was even crazier because my family back home saw everything and it took a little minute for everyone to get in touch and tell them everything was OK,” Foreman said. “They were panicking and calling me, texting me and stuff. So I'm just glad it all worked out. I'm very blessed and very thankful to still be here and doing what I love.”

The Greenbrier is isolated in the mountains, so a helicopter was the quickest way to get to a trauma hospital in Virginia. The flight seemed longer than it actually was.

“I was strapped to the board,” Foreman said. “I couldn't look around, I couldn't move, and the board made it worse because I was so stiff. And then I didn't want to move because I didn't know if I could break something.”

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He had been like this for an hour now.

“My legs, my back, my butt, everything just hurt,” he said. “So I was really ready to get out of the helicopter.”

THE MOMENT

The 28-year-old Foreman never lost consciousness and did not suffer a concussion.

“I remember the whole thing,” he said.

The team was working on punt rushes and he initiated a hit.

“I tried to make contact with my head down, but it kind of got stuck and traveled down my spine, and I just felt a sharp pain,” he said. “And when I told them and they felt around and felt where the pain was, they wanted to be extra careful about everything.

“I was scared, I was nervous, but they calmed me down and made me understand that it was all just a precautionary measure. They had already checked everything and made sure I could move everything.”

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He was in hospital for four or five hours while a series of tests were carried out which confirmed that everything was fine. He had never experienced such pain and was relieved to learn that he had not broken anything.

“We checked everything, did everything, had everything checked and they handled it right,” he said. “I'm grateful for that.”

He was in “hellish pain” and wore a neck brace for a day. The pain spread from his neck, down the middle of his spine, to his muscles and lower back. He said he had regained most of his mobility after three or four days. He returned to practice a week after the incident, did not play in the season opener against the Packers and was on the field Saturday.

“It kind of came back to me after I got into the end zone for the first touchdown and I felt my neck,” he said of the scare. “It was sore and tight, and I was like, 'Damn!' Because I hadn't really been hit, but it's nothing I'm worried about. I think I can get it under control with some needles and some treatment.”

He had to put the incident behind him in order to continue his career.

“I knew I still wanted to play ball, so I didn't want to have that in the back of my mind when I was out there on the field,” he said.

He described himself as “definitely a tough guy” and thanked the “strong-willed” people in his family for that.

“Whatever we set out to do, we won’t give up until we’ve completed the task,” he said.

A TASK

At 6'0″ and 235 pounds, Foreman seems perfect for the goal-line runs he made against the Vikings and the short-yardage role that Kareem Hunt excelled in a year ago. The Browns and Hunt parted ways after last season.

“I feel like I have to get in there in those situations, just me with my stature and my build, I'm a bigger back, I take that personally, so I was really upset that I didn't get in the first one,” Foreman said. “I definitely had to get in the second one, but it worked out.”

The running backs' roles are still being defined, especially since Nick Chubb is still out. Jerome Ford is expected to be the starter, with Foreman and Pierre Strong Jr. coming off the bench.

“Right now, they're letting me do a little bit of everything,” Foreman said. “Whatever my role is, I'm confident I'll fill it effectively and do whatever I can to help the team.”

Coach Kevin Stefanski was satisfied with the game against the Vikings.

“He ran very fast, that's his game,” he said. “He shifts his weight down, stays crouched and goes forward. He obviously had a feel for the goal line.”

Foreman came into the league in 2017 from the University of Texas as a third-round pick of the Texans. A torn Achilles tendon as a rookie cost him almost the entire 2018 season, then a torn biceps affected him in 2019.

He landed with the Titans in 2020 and 2021 and played his first full season with the Panthers in 2022. He started nine of 17 games, rushing 203 times for 914 yards, a 4.5 average and five touchdowns. He started eight of nine games with the Bears last year, rushing 109 times for 425 yards, a 3.9 average and four touchdowns. For his career, he started 21 of 52 games, rushing 2,326 yards, a 4.2 average and 14 touchdowns.

On Saturday, he ran 10 times for 18 yards and a touchdown and caught five passes for 46 yards, which was a team-high. He believes he showed the coaching staff something after having just 34 catches for 342 yards and three touchdowns in his career, including 11 catches, which was a career-high last year.

“I can catch the ball in the backfield and gain some yards,” he said. “I was thankful to be able to go out today and catch some balls and make some plays afterward.”

He had a lot to be grateful for.

Browns writer for The Chronicle-Telegram and The Medina Gazette. Proud graduate of Northwestern University. Husband and stepfather. Avid golfer who has to hit the range to get to a single-digit handicap. Right with Johnny Manziel, wrong with Brandon Weeden. Contact Scott at 440-329-7253 or email and follow him on and On Twitter.