Redskins release Mason Foster

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July 24, 2019

by Steve Thomas

The Washington Redskins announced yesterday that the team has released former starting inside linebacker Mason Foster.  The news was first reported by Erin Hawksworth.

Foster played in 50 games in four years, starting 38, and had a total of 318 tackles during his time in DC, including 215 solo and 103 assisted tackles.  His release saves the team $4M on the 2019 salary cap.

The timing of Foster’s departure so close to the start of training camp was a bit surprising, particularly given the injury to linebacker Reuben Foster in OTAs, but Mason’s play had declined over the past two years.

Washington now has one established veteran remaining on the active roster, journeyman Jonathan Bostic, plus a number of young players such as 2018 sixth round pick Shaun Dion Hamilton, 2017 seventh round pick Josh Harvey-Clemons, rookie Cole Holcomb, and a number of undrafted free agents.  The team will have to find two new starters for 2019 in training camp, which begins this week.

Foster generated significant controversy last season by making negative comments about fans on Twitter, but appeared to weather the storm when the team took no action at the time, at least that was made public. Irrespective of the controversy, Foster was a liability on the field, and his release is thus not a big surprise.

Foster’s agent, Blake Baratz, complained about the timing of the release on Twitter Tuesday: