The 49ers selected Reuben Foster at the bottom of the first round in last year's draft. By some measures it was considered a steal; the linebacker had the talent to be a higher selection. But there were some troubling injury and off-field concerns, and one year into his NFL career, both have surfaced -- the latter of which have his future with San Francisco in jeopardy.
Foster was charged with felony domestic violence yesterday, for an incident where he allegedly dragged and punched his live-in girlfriend during a dispute. The 49ers released a terse statement indicating Foster's roster spot is in jeopardy. Maybe they're going to wait until the legal situation plays out further, but it would probably be more surprising at this point if Foster isn't eventually released.
Foster, some may recall, failed a drug test at the combine last year, then was kicked out after arguing with a hospital worker. Some teams had taken him off their draft boards for medical reasons (he missed six games due to injury as a rookie), others perhaps for the off-field concerns. Now this. Not looking like a great pick.
(Tough week for 49ers linebackers past and present. Aldon Smith was arrested recently, and he reportedly blew a 0.40 on a breathalyzer -- five times the legal limit in most states. Many (most?) people would be dead with that much alcohol in their systems.)
Foster was productive when on the field. He averaged 7.2 tackles per game, one of the better rates in the league among the league's leading tacklers (table follows; to make it less unwieldy I cropped the list at 70-plus tackles and 6.0 per game).
TACKLES PER GAME, 2017 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | G | GS | Tot | Solo | Ast | Tck/G |
Zach Brown, Wash. | 13 | 13 | 127 | 84 | 43 | 9.8 |
Sean Lee, Dall. | 11 | 11 | 101 | 70 | 31 | 9.2 |
Preston Brown, Buff. | 16 | 16 | 144 | 84 | 60 | 9.0 |
Blake Martinez, G.B. | 16 | 16 | 142 | 95 | 47 | 8.9 |
Joe Schobert, Clev. | 16 | 16 | 142 | 85 | 57 | 8.9 |
Deion Jones, Atl. | 16 | 16 | 138 | 91 | 47 | 8.6 |
Christian Kirksey, Clev. | 16 | 16 | 138 | 86 | 52 | 8.6 |
Demario Davis, NYJ | 16 | 16 | 135 | 97 | 38 | 8.4 |
NaVorro Bowman, S.F.-Oak. | 15 | 15 | 126 | 80 | 46 | 8.4 |
Luke Kuechly, Car. | 15 | 15 | 125 | 74 | 51 | 8.3 |
Bobby Wagner, Sea. | 16 | 16 | 133 | 97 | 36 | 8.3 |
C.J. Mosley, Balt. | 16 | 16 | 132 | 96 | 36 | 8.3 |
Kwon Alexander, T.B. | 12 | 12 | 97 | 70 | 27 | 8.1 |
Lavonte David, T.B. | 13 | 13 | 101 | 76 | 25 | 7.8 |
Reshad Jones, Mia. | 16 | 16 | 122 | 94 | 28 | 7.6 |
Wesley Woodyard, Tenn. | 16 | 16 | 121 | 81 | 40 | 7.6 |
Ryan Shazier, Pitt. | 12 | 12 | 89 | 68 | 21 | 7.4 |
Danny Trevathan, Chi. | 12 | 12 | 89 | 60 | 29 | 7.4 |
Telvin Smith, Jac. | 14 | 14 | 102 | 76 | 26 | 7.3 |
Reuben Foster, S.F. | 10 | 10 | 72 | 59 | 13 | 7.2 |
K.J. Wright, Sea. | 15 | 15 | 108 | 71 | 37 | 7.2 |
Antonio Morrison, Ind. | 15 | 15 | 108 | 64 | 44 | 7.2 |
Kiko Alonso, Mia. | 16 | 16 | 115 | 79 | 36 | 7.2 |
Keanu Neal, Atl. | 16 | 16 | 113 | 81 | 32 | 7.1 |
Eric Kendricks, Minn. | 16 | 16 | 113 | 67 | 46 | 7.1 |
Anthony Hitchens, Dall. | 12 | 12 | 84 | 55 | 29 | 7.0 |
Nick Vigil, Cin. | 11 | 11 | 77 | 43 | 34 | 7.0 |
Jonathan Bostic, Ind. | 14 | 14 | 97 | 57 | 40 | 6.9 |
Tahir Whitehead, Det. | 16 | 16 | 110 | 78 | 32 | 6.9 |
Jarrad Davis, Det. | 14 | 14 | 96 | 65 | 31 | 6.9 |
Deone Bucannon, Ariz. | 12 | 12 | 81 | 58 | 23 | 6.8 |
Brandon Marshall, Den. | 16 | 16 | 106 | 75 | 31 | 6.6 |
Landon Collins, NYG | 15 | 15 | 99 | 74 | 25 | 6.6 |
Ramon Humber, Buff. | 13 | 9 | 83 | 56 | 27 | 6.4 |
Alec Ogletree, LAR | 15 | 15 | 95 | 63 | 32 | 6.3 |
Jordan Poyer, Buff. | 15 | 15 | 95 | 63 | 32 | 6.3 |
Kurt Coleman, Car. | 12 | 12 | 76 | 51 | 25 | 6.3 |
Earl Thomas, Sea. | 14 | 14 | 88 | 56 | 32 | 6.3 |
Darron Lee, NYJ | 15 | 15 | 94 | 67 | 27 | 6.3 |
Mark Barron, LAR | 14 | 14 | 85 | 72 | 13 | 6.1 |
Karlos Dansby Ariz. | 16 | 15 | 96 | 74 | 22 | 6.0 |
Jahleel Addae, LAC | 16 | 16 | 96 | 66 | 30 | 6.0 |
Lawrence Timmons, Mia. | 14 | 14 | 84 | 58 | 26 | 6.0 |
Vincent Rey, Cin. | 14 | 11 | 84 | 52 | 32 | 6.0 |
But Foster's offseason is a reminder that some talented players fall further in the draft than you'd expect, and teams take guys off their draft boards for good reason. A productive player isn't always worth the risk. When San Francisco releases Foster, that'll be clear.
--Andy Richardson