Baltimore Ravens’ Justin Forsett is no stranger to setback. Four teams in the last four years. Too small. Too slow. Never enough. Countless reps as backup, sitting in the shadows, honing his skills and waiting for his moment. Long stretches of testing and character chiseling and holding onto hope in his God. Now, a Promised Land after years wandering a wilderness.
The NFL running back is experiencing the sweetness of a season that comes like a balm from a summer storm after drought. But the seeds of adversity planted and watered in years past went through specific tending to ready him for where he is today.
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Growing up in Mulberry, Fla., as the middle child of three, Forsett found himself in church often. His father was a pastor, and the family was always involved, whether in the choir or at Bible study or playing music. But it wasn’t until middle school when faith got real for Justin.
Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens
Position: RB
Height: 5-8
Weight: 197
Age: 29
College: California
Hometown: Lakeland, FL
Experience: 7 years
Always one of the smaller students from a middle-class family, he tried to fit in with the “cool people,” but he longed to shed his chameleon image. He’d heard of the things Jesus could do in his life and wanted to find out for himself.
When he gave himself to God as a young teenager, life changed.
“My perspective of everything shifted, now being Christ-centered,” he said.
Forsett plunged into his new life with a relentless fervor, especially on the athletic field.
Believing God would open doors, Forsett pushed himself to train, putting in work long after practice ended. A thousand sit ups and pushups a night, running laps around the block while others were out—he made sure he would be ready when his future came calling.
When Forsett moved to Texas his junior year of high school, his faith and perseverance were tested.
While amassing numerous records at Grace Prep in Arlington, including rushing for almost 5,000 yards and earning the MVP award in the Texas All-Star Game, no schools came knocking on his door offering scholarships until Notre Dame rolled in late with theirs. One week before national signing day, when Forsett called to schedule a visit, he was told he was no longer needed. They were signing two bigger running backs.
Forsett trudged down his basement steps, fell to his knees, shoulders shuddering, and prayed. “God, what’s going on? I’m not going out and having sex, I’m not drinking, I’m not doing all these things but I’m being ostracized. I’m being left out, I’m not getting these things I feel like I’ve been putting the work into.”
His collegiate career looked bleak.
Through his tears, he asked God to show him some encouragement to keep him going.
“I literally flipped open my Bible and it landed on Proverbs 3:5-6, where it talks about leaning not on your own understanding, but trust God with all your heart and acknowledge Him,” he said.
Peace flooded into him, and that moment became a turning point for the young athlete navigating the rough waters of hard work and dreams.
A month after signing day, Cal, then the number-11 ranked team in the nation, liked what they saw on film of Forsett and offered him a scholarship. After backing up Marshawn Lynch for a few years, Forsett started his senior year and accumulated a season that would take him to the 2008 NFL Draft.
Again, experts and media scrutinized his size and physical attributes: not big enough, not fast enough. On and on the assumptions seemed to point his role to special teams with the same old song he’d heard since his Pop Warner days. But Forsett trusted God’s faithfulness and ability to do immeasurably more than he could imagine.
"I realized God had something bigger for me there instead of just playing football.”
At home for the draft, Forsett figured his name would be called somewhere between the third and fifth rounds. By the end of the fifth round, his phone stayed silent.
In the seventh round, he began to hear teams wanted to bring him in as a free agent for workouts. That’s when Seattle called to declare they were taking him, beginning his NFL journey.
After being waived by Seattle a few games in, he went to the Indianapolis Colts before quickly returning to the Seahawks after only two weeks of the season in Indy. Forsett stayed for four years while seeing minimal playing time before heading to Houston for a season. 2013 brought him to Jacksonville, a time described by Forsett as “the darkest moment in my career.”
Arriving in Jacksonville following a solid season, hopes were high at finding a home with the Jaguars. Entering training camp, however, Forsett battled a case of turf toe and missed the entire preseason. He regained his health but didn’t see much playing time, and was eventually put on the inactive list. Forsett couldn’t understand the string of events, even more so when in his first game back, he suffered a season-ending broken foot.
“I was frustrated, feeling like I wasn’t wanted and appreciated,” Forsett said. “I was like, ‘God, what’s going on here?’ I asked God why for a couple days, and then thought I have to stop asking why and start asking the question how. How can I impact somebody or this place while I’m here? I began to have a sense of peace about the situation. It was tough, but I realized God had something bigger for me there instead of just playing football.”
Forsett served his community and team, offering encouragement and a listening ear.
When the season ended, the Jaguars released Forsett, leaving him wondering if another team would take a chance on him. He and his wife Angela began brainstorming possible careers—ministry or player development—in case he never played another down.
But Baltimore took that chance and signed Forsett before their 2014 training camp. There, two solid running backs were ahead of him. But, when starter Ray Rice was suspended and eventually dropped from the team, a door of opportunity opened for Forsett.
“I was going to work hard and give everything I had into this opportunity and make sure I left an impact,” he said.
Now he’s become a household name near the top of most league-leading rushing stats, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice (Weeks 10 and 12).
"I was going to work hard and give everything I had into this opportunity and make sure I left an impact."
“Every day, I’m so grateful,” he said. “Baltimore didn’t have to give me this opportunity during the offseason. I’m just so appreciative of the opportunity that I have every day.”
On a journey that may break certain sojourners, Forsett kept his compass on Christ and His faithfulness.
“When you go through dark times, you realize who was really there for you in those moments,” he said. “I know there were so many times it was just me tossing and turning in bed with God, trying to figure out what my future’s going to be like or what’s going to happen next, and Him comforting me and encouraging me.”
Forsett keeps grounded through his family and friends, teammates and chaplain. With so much success this season, he likes to keep a backwards mentality.
“I want to decrease,” he said. “I want to be less selfish. As I’m growing, even with this spotlight, I’m making sure I’m taking time to sit in quiet time just saying, ‘It’s all about You, God.’
“I don’t ever want to get to the point where this thing is about me. He’s the only thing that’s going to last. Whether people are trying to lift me up right now and put me in the spotlight, really I’m in the background. I want to make sure that I’m using this platform to glorify His name, show people what Christ is like and what He can do for you.”
Forsett has seen the faithfulness of God through shadows and sunlight, in the continual uphill battle of perseverance when the world said he could never quite fit in.
“It’s crazy how God works, and I’m just blessed. I can’t explain it,” he said. “I never would have written this story.”
Photos courtesy of the Baltimore Ravens/Phil Hoffmann