Troubled former first-round pick attempting NFL comeback

A former NFL defender is stretching out his calves once again.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Friday that ex-San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster is attempting to return to the NFL field. He will be signing with the Pittsburgh Maulers of the USFL in an effort to show NFL teams that he is ready to play, Rapoport adds.

Foster, still only 28, was a unanimous All-American in college at Alabama and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft (No. 31 overall). But he made just 16 total appearances over two seasons in San Francisco before being released in 2018 amid several troubling legal issues.

Foster was then claimed off waivers by Washington in a controversial move. Unfortunately, though, he tore his ACL on the first day of OTAs before the 2019 season and never played in a single game for them. News has mostly been quiet on the Foster front since then as he has recovered and rehabbed. But now, it seems that he is serious about trying to return to the NFL.