San Francisco 49ers: Ranking the 10 worst trades in franchise history

No. 5: 49ers take a chance by trading up for Reuben Foster

The Niners knew they were taking a big risk in the 2017 NFL Draft when they had their eyes on Alabama star linebacker Reuben Foster, who had the talent to be a top-10 pick but was also accompanied by both injury and off-field concerns.

Those surely influenced 30 other teams to pass on him during what was otherwise a pretty stacked draft class in Round 1.

Yet when San Francisco, already having selected Solomon Thomas earlier, decided to trade back into the round by sending off a second- and a fourth-round pick to the Seahawks in exchange for the No. 31 overall pick, grabbing Foster there appeared to be an absolute steal.

Early on, it looked like that was the case. Foster was a playmaking force all over the field, and it was appearing as if the 49ers finally had their heir apparent for linebacker Patrick Willis, who retired two years earlier.

But those legal issues came back to bite Foster in 2018, as multiple arrests and run-ins ultimately led to his premature dismissal from the team in November of that year.

It was a gamble, yes. And the Niners knew it. They took a chance and were burned by the result.

Perhaps only the fact San Francisco didn’t use its first overall pick that year saves this from being ranked higher on any bad trade-package list.