5 former 49ers draft picks whose NFL career might be done

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Washington Football Team linebacker Reuben Foster (56) Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Former 49ers draft pick No. 3: Linebacker Reuben Foster (2017)

Yes, another clear-cut what-could-have-been player, the Niners’ second of two first-round picks stemming from the 2017 NFL Draft.

San Francisco’s top pick that year, defensive end Solomon Thomas, appears poised for a journeyman-like career after spending 2021 with the Las Vegas Raiders and now having signed on with the New York Jets.

The second Round 1 pick, linebacker Reuben Foster, hasn’t played a regular-season down since the 49ers dismissed him from the team amid off-field conduct the year after he was drafted.

Of course, Niners fans may remember how the Washington Commanders claimed Foster off waivers almost immediately after news broke he had been waived. But Foster never saw the field for Washington in 2018 and then suffered a serious knee injury during 2019 offseason practices, which also kept him from playing in 2020, too.

That ended his Washington tenure, yet Foster attempted to come back by engaging in workouts with the New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.

None of those amounted to a new contract, though, and it’s likely Foster winds up never playing an NFL down again at this point.