Foster is worth the pick
Shanahan thinks linebacker’s potential talent outweighs injury
SANTA CLARA — Linebacker NaVorro Bowman’s comeback from an Achilles tear is progressing as a bestcase scenario, and the 49ers are banking on the same to happen with first-round draft pick Reuben Foster’s right shoulder.
But what if Foster indeed needs a follow-up procedure on his rotator cuff because his initial one “didn’t take,” as some teams diagnosed before the draft, as ESPN reported Wednesday?
“The worst-case scenario is if the shoulder doesn’t heal correctly and you have to do it again,” Shanahan said Thursday on KNBR 680. “When you have to do it again, you have to get another surgery and it’d be tough to play this year. You’d end up having him the next year but it’s not something that would hurt him long term.
“The worst-case scenario is he wouldn’t be able to play for us right away,” Shanahan added, “but I still don’t think that would have changed how I personally would felt taking a guy with the 31st pick with the caliber of player we took.”
The 49ers moved up to draft Foster, the Butkus Award winner last season at Alabama, after receiving the advice of the team’s medical staff.
“They looked into everything with Reuben, and our doctors felt good about his shoulder,” Shanahan said. “They thought it was recovering well.”
Foster, at his introductory news conference last Friday, disputed the notion he will need more surgery. He predicted he would be limited in the offseason program into June but that he’ll be “full go” come training camp in late July.
As rookies arrived for a three-day minicamp, the 49ers announced they have signed six of their 10 draft picks, as well as 18 undrafted free agents. Under contract are running back Joe Williams (fourth round), tight end George Kittle (fifth round), wide receiver Trent Taylor (fifth round), nose tackle D.J. Jones (sixth round), defensive lineman Pita Taumoepenu (sixth round) and defensive back Adrian Colbert (seventh round).
Among those yet to be signed is quarterback C.J. Beathard, a third-rounder who said he’ll wear No. 3. Williams said he has been assigned No. 33 for rookie minicamp, and cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (third round) will don No. 41.
n The large crop of undrafted rookies are: Quarterback Nick Mullens (Southern Miss); running back Matt Breida (Georgia Southern); wide receivers KD Cannon (Baylor), Victor Bolden (Oregon State) and Kendrick Bourne (Eastern Washington); tight end Cole Hikutini (Louisville); fullback Tyler McCloskey (Houston); offensive linemen Evan Goodman (Arizona State), Erik Magnusen (Michigan), J.P. Flynn (Montana State), Darrell Williams Jr. (Western Kentucky) and Bret Treadway (Lamar); linebacker Donavin Newsom (Missouri); defensive backs Lorenzo Jerome (St. Francis, Pa.), Malik Golden (Penn State) and Zach Franklin (Washburn); and defensive lineman Noble Nwachukwu (West Virginia) and Jimmie Gilbert (Colorado).
nThe 49ers, according to NFL Network, are expected to release third-year running back Mike Davis, who averaged 2 yards per carry and did not suit up the final half of last season. He was a 2014 fourth-round draft pick.