Reuben Foster: starter or camp casualty?

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June 26, 2020

by Steve Thomas

Reuben Foster might just be the biggest enigma on the 2020 Redskins roster.  We did our position group breakdown on the linebacker group on Monday’s Hog Sty show, and if you got anything out of that segment, it should have been that Washington has a veritable boatload of uncertainty at this position.  At the top of the uncertainty brigade is Foster, who came to DC in the latter half of the 2018 season amidst a storm of controversy stemming from multiple criminal charges in his personal life.  Then, on the first series on the day of OTAs last year, he tore up his knee and essentially hasn’t been seen since.  However, this is a player who is an elite talent when healthy and focused.  Whether that can ever happen again remains to be seen, but the thought is at least worth exploring.  Or perhaps more accurately, stated, dreamed about.

Background

Foster (6’1” / 228), a native of Roanoke, Alabama, was recruited by Nick Saban to the University of Alabama, where he played in 39 games over three seasons from 2014 – 2016, making a total of 211 tackles, including 120 solo and 91 assisted tackles and 7 sacks.  He started the 2015 and 2016 seasons and in 2016 was named a Unanimous All-American and won the Butkus Award, which is given to the best linebacker in the country.  Foster was infamously kicked out of the 2016 NFL Combine, so we don’t have a reliable 40 time or other objective measurables for him.  He was drafted by the 49ers with the 31st pick in round one of the 2017 draft.  He played and started 16 games in two years in San Francisco, making 101 total tackles, including 84 solo and 17 assisted tackles. In 2017, which was his last full NFL season, Foster played in and started 10 games, missing 6 games due to an ankle injury, making 72 tackles, including 59 solo and 13 assisted tackles.  Foster was named to the All-Rookie team by the Pro Football Writers Association.  He played 6 games in 2018 making 29 tackles, including 25 solo and 4 assisted tackles before the 49ers got tired of him and cut him as a result of an alleged domestic violence incident regarding his girlfriend.  I previously wrote in detail about the extent of his various legal and personal troubles, but here’s the executive summary:

  • February, 2017: failed drug test at Combine
  • February, 2017: kicked out of Combine
  • January, 2018: arrested for possession of marijuana
  • February, 2018: arrested and charged with felony domestic violence, weapons possession, infliction of bodily harm (DV and infliction of bodily harm charges dropped; pled no contest to weapons charge) (2 game suspension for both marijuana and weapons charge)
  • November 24, 2018: arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic violence (charges dropped)

All of that happened in about 20 months, but there were supposedly also numerous other incidents also involving his girlfriend that did not result in arrest.  You can read my detailed breakdown of Foster’s legal troubles by clicking here.

The Redskins claimed Foster off of waivers on November 27, 2018; however, he did not play for the team that year, instead spending the final few weeks of the season on the Commissioner’s Exempt List due to his legal troubles.

2019 and what could’ve been

After all of that drama, the next thing that happened to him was a severe knee injury suffered on the first series of the first practice on the first day of OTAs last May, tearing his ACL, LCL, and MCL, which caused him to miss the entire 2019 season.  The only real update we received since then came this past January when his agent, Malki Kawa, told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that Foster also had nerve damage in his foot and had only recently gotten the feeling back in his toes and foot for the first time in months.  Kawa further stated that he hoped that Foster would be able to participate in training camp in “some form or fashion.”[1]

Before the injury occurred, it seemed fairly clear that former head coach Jay Gruden viewed Foster as a starter and an important piece of the defense, which obviously went for naught.

Finally, the Redskins recently declined his fifth year option on his rookie contract since he has yet to play a single snap for the team.

What’s next?

It’s not news for me to suggest that the Redskins linebacker group is a bit of a mess.  They do have some young talent, most notably 2019 rookie surprise Cole Holcomb and Shaun Dion Hamilton, the 2018 sixth round draft pick out of Alabama.  However, overall, the linebacker group suffers from a lack of talent, with the top player being 37 years old, and the switch to a base 4 – 3 has brought the group into even more doubt.  A healthy and productive Foster could be a massive boost.  He’s probably talented enough to play any linebacker position – middle, SAM, or WILL (you can read my film study on Foster from April, 2019, by clicking here).  Whether he will actually be able to do that is a massive open question.

From a disciplinary standpoint, the fact of the matter is that Foster hasn’t gotten into any further trouble since he’s been in DC, and the last incident with his girlfriend was more than a year and a half ago.  Foster is in a contract year and has a host of his former Alabama teammates on the defense with him, so while trouble tends to follow some people, it’s not overly optimistic to think that his troubles MIGHT be behind him.  Plus, if he’s going to have a long term NFL career, this is the year he needs to prove his worth.  So, look for Foster to be on his best behavior and to move heaven and earth to play this season and look good doing it.

Therefore, my guess is that one way or the other Foster is going end up being healthy enough to participate in training camp and play the regular season.  If that happens, what could the Redskins possibly do to maximize his contribution to the team?  With his speed and athleticism, he seems like a natural backside WILL linebacker, but he’s also the most talented and most versatile linebacker on the team.  For that reason, I think he could effectively play both the strongside and even in the middle.  What makes the most sense, though?  To me, it’s the SAM – Jonathan Bostic is a natural middle linebacker, and Washington is going to start one of either Thomas Davis or Cole Holcomb on the weakside.  It’s on the strongside that the team has the most question.  Ryan Anderson is likely to be given a shot in that role but he’s by no means a lock as the starter.  The best move is to allow those two to compete for the job, with the best and / or healthiest man winning.  If the Redskins can produce a healthy starting linebacker corps of Bostic in the middle, Foster as the SAM, and Davis at WILL, they might just have a group that is able to compete on an even footing.

That’s certainly a longshot, though.  Let me know in the comment section what you think about Reuben Foster’s chances this season.

 

 

[1] https://www.nfl.com/news/reuben-foster-regains-feeling-in-foot-months-after-knee-injury-0ap3000001097530