No. 3: Will Reuben Foster line up next to NaVorro Bowman come September?
Admittedly, this question carried a lot more intrigue before free-agent acquisition Malcolm Smith was lost for the season with a pectoral tear.
The battle for the starting WILL linebacker spot became a little less cluttered for Reuben Foster, the 49ers’ 31st overall selection in this year’s draft, but GM John Lynch was clear that Foster would still have to earn that role, telling NFL Network.
“It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field, but we’re going to make him earn it too,” Lynch said. “Kyle’s very cognizant of that because I think Reuben will appreciate it more if he has to earn it. He’s doing his best to do just that.”
“It’s going to be hard to keep him off the field, but we’re going to make him earn it too,” Lynch said. “Kyle’s very cognizant of that because I think Reuben will appreciate it more if he has to earn it. He’s doing his best to do just that.”- GM John Lynch
And Foster seems to be getting more comfortable with each practice, having recorded four INTs in training camp so far, and just generally being all over the field making plays. And while the 49ers are intent on having Foster earn it, it seems like a matter of time before Foster is ahead of Ray-Ray Armstrong on the linebacker depth chart.
Foster may be more apt to making mistakes than a veteran like Armstrong at this point, but his playmaking ability and quick learning curve may negate all that before the end of camp.
Not to mention that lining up next to NaVorro Bowman will only help Foster to allow him to be aggressive but disciplined in learning from and playing next to one of the NFL’s best linebackers.
If he continues to play the way he has so far, Foster will be starting when the games begin to count in September.