San Francisco 49ers: Does the return of Reuben Foster mean the end for Eli Harold?

The return of Reuben Foster — after his domestic violence charges were dismissed — creates a logjam in the San Francisco 49ers’ inside linebacker corps. However, the odd man out may be a player who plays a different position — outside linebacker Eli Harold.

Despite the initial outrage surrounding Reuben Foster after the linebacker’s arrest for alleged domestic violence, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were smart to wait for the legal process to run its course before taking extreme action.

On Wednesday, the 49ers were rewarded for their patience, as the charges against Foster were dropped after his alleged victim recanted her story and admitted that she lied to police regarding the incident.

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Foster’s return to the team creates a problem, but a good one — the 49ers have a number of viable inside linebackers on the roster, but only two starting inside linebacker spots.

Foster will man one of the 49ers’ two starting inside linebacker positions — either beginning Week 1, or after he serves a potential suspension from the NFL — which will directly affect the playing time of his fellow inside linebackers. However, the player with the most to lose from Foster’s return may be outside linebacker Eli Harold.

While Lynch and Shanahan waited for the facts surrounding Foster’s case to emerge, they did not wait to add an insurance plan for Foster, fearing they may be forced to cut ties with the 2017 first-round draft pick.

The 49ers spent significant financial and draft capital at the inside linebacker position, and now have a number of viable starters — and a few of these players have the versatility necessary to play outside linebacker.

Although 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh implements a 4-3 defensive scheme with a combination of “over” and “under” fronts, it is not a three-stacked-linebacker scheme. Instead, the 49ers use two nearly identical inside linebackers — the MIKE and WILL linebackers — and one outside linebacker, who is referred to as the SAM linebacker, but doesn’t always line up on the strong side of the formation.

With Foster likely playing WILL — where he excelled in 2017 — the 49ers have a four-man competition at MIKE, between Malcolm Smith, Fred Warner, Brock Coyle and Korey Toomer.

The 49ers spent significantly on Smith and Coyle, and used a third-round pick on Warner, meaning the trio are likely to land spots on the Niners’ opening-day roster. And even though Toomer was signed to a low-dollar deal, he is perhaps the group’s most prototypical MIKE linebacker, which is highlighted by his run-defending prowess:

Given his draft status, Warner will be expected to contribute immediately. If he is unable to win the starting MIKE linebacker job, he could be given reps at SAM linebacker, given the skills he displayed at BYU.

If Warner wins the starting MIKE linebacker job, Smith and Coyle could split time at SAM linebacker, where they both had experience during their time with the Seattle Seahawks.

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Both of these scenarios would be problematic for the 49ers’ 2017 starting SAM linebacker Eli Harold, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Harold, who earned a 47.7 overall grade from Pro Football Focus last season, is scheduled to count over $2 million against the Niners’ cap in 2018.