The San Francisco 49ers are preparing to play in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, and had things gone Reuben Foster’s way, he might also be getting ready to take the field. But the 31st overall pick from the 2017 NFL Draft’s career instead took a downward turn after suffering a torn ACL and LCL in 2019 with Washington.
Foster later landed a workout with the Miami Dolphins in April of 2022 but was not able to convince the team to grant him a roster spot. But Foster hasn’t given up on his dream of returning to the NFL, where he played just 16 games across two seasons with the 49ers.
In 2018, Foster ran into legal troubles, leading to a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after dealing with both a weapons offense plus a misdemeanor drug charge. But then Foster was once again arrested, this time for domestic violence, and the 49ers decided to cut him loose. Three days later, Foster landed on his feet in Washington, but the NFL immediately placed him on the exempt list, keeping him from seeing any game action.
Now, almost four years after suffering his ACL + LCL tear, Foster is attempting his football comeback, by signing a contract with the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the plan for Foster is to hopefully showcase to other professional football teams that he’s healthy and good enough to return to the NFL in due time.
Being that Foster was once one of the top linebacker draft prospects coming out of Alabama, the 28-year-old knows what it takes to perform at a high level. Playing in the USFL among a large group of players and coaches who are also motivated to prove they belong, Foster will surely be someone to watch when games begin later this spring.
The Pittsburgh Maulers, Foster’s new team, are coached by Ray Horton, who is a defensive-driven individual. Horton coached Washington’s defensive backs in the lone year Foster was in Washington, so the two already have a football connection. Now, they’ll put their skills to the test for the Maulers.
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