There was significant concern about linebacker Reuben Foster‘s right shoulder entering the draft, which surely played a part in the ex-Alabama star’s first-round fall. Once regarded as a likely top 10 pick, Foster ended up going 31st overall to the 49ers, who are so bullish on the All-America defender that they would have been willing to select him at No. 3 had former Stanford D-lineman Solomon Thomas not been on the board. Instead, after landing Thomas with their top pick, the Niners were able to secure Foster by trading up three spots for him in a deal with the NFC West rival Seahawks.
The 49ers’ doctors “felt good” about Foster’s shoulder after examining it, head coach Kyle Shanahan told KNBR in San Francisco (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle), but the club nonetheless realizes the 23-year-old isn’t a lock to play in 2017.
“The worst-case scenario is the shoulder doesn’t heal correctly and you’ve got to do it again,” Shanahan said of a potential second surgery for Foster. “When you have to do it again, you have to get another surgery and it would be tough to play this year, and you end up having him the next year.”
Foster’s shoulder “could give out on any hit,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported earlier this week, though Shanahan won’t regard the selection as a mistake if it does. Shanahan doesn’t believe Foster’s shoulder is a “long-term” concern, adding: “So the worst-case scenario, he wouldn’t end up being able to play for us right away. But I still don’t think that would have changed how I personally felt about taking a guy with the 31st pick with the caliber of player that we took.”
By moving back into the first round for Foster, the 49ers gave themselves a chance to keep him in the fold on his first contract for five years, as opposed to four had he gone in the second round. As such, a redshirt season wouldn’t be catastrophic from a team control standpoint (though it certainly wouldn’t be ideal). And if Foster does sit out 2017 but go on to reach his potential from 2018-21, the 49ers probably won’t regret dealing the 34th and 111th choices to trade up for him.