Defense looks forward to a jolt of energy
Foster returns and is slated to start at weakside linebacker
SANTA CLARA >> Reuben Foster resumed practicing with the 49ers on Wednesday, having served a two-game suspension in which the star linebacker’s absence was noticeable. Even teammate DeForest Buckner said so.
“When he comes down with a big hit, he brings a lot of energy to the defense and everybody feeds off of it,” Buckner said. “I feel we’ve been missing a little bit of that since he’s been out.”
The 49ers (1-1) get Foster’s passion and productivity just in time for a Sunday visit to the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, the league’s highestscoring team (40 points per game).
Foster, who the team kept from commenting until today, is expected to start at the “Will” weakside linebacker spot next to rookie Fred Warner, who has impressed through two games as the play call-relaying “Mike” linebacker.
Coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t ready to declare
who’ll start at linebacker or how he’ll factor in the potential 49ers debut of Malcolm Smith, who also returned to practice Wednesday after missing two games with a hamstring strain.
“Reuben’s one of our best players,” Shanahan said. “Everyone knows how good of a tackler he is. But, he’s also good in coverage. He can blitz the quarterback. He can do a lot of things.
“Just having his presence out there, just from a leadership standpoint, guys gravitate to him.”
That young tandem of Foster and Warner could be in place for years to come, even if it’s not exactly how the 49ers sketched it out when Shanahan and John Lynch took over last year.
Warner was drafted this year while Foster’s career hung in legal limbo. Foster missed all but the final three weeks of the offseason program and rejoined the team only after domestic-violence charges were dropped, once his accuser testified that she falsified her claims.
That February arrest came a few weeks after a marijuana-possession charge in Alabama, and even though that case got dismissed, Foster still received a two-game suspension from the league for violating its personal conduct and substance-abuse policies.
Last season, Foster played only nine games, including five because of an ankle injury he sustained only 11 snaps into his Week 1 debut.
Foster comes back seeking his first career forced fumble, first fumble recovery and first interception.
Coach Andy Reid and the Chiefs hosted Foster for a pre-draft visit last year and “liked” the Alabama product.
“He flies around and makes plays,” Reid said on a media conference call. “We’ll be aware of where he’s at and we’ll look to do well against him.”
Brock Coyle started the Sept. 9 opening loss at Minnesota next to Warner, but Coyle went on injured reserve last week (fractured vertebrae). Elijah Lee made his first career start in Sunday’s home opener as the 49ers awaited Foster’s arrival.
Here are other highlights from Wednesday’s access:
• Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin looked cautious as
he began practicing for the first time since a quadriceps bruise knocked him out of the season opener.
Goodwin’s speed has been missed, and perhaps the only wide receiver who can match it in the NFL is the Chiefs’ Tyreek Hill.
“The dude is unbelievably fast,” Goodwin said. “I was fortunate enough to watch him in college a little bit in track and field, and he did his thing on the football field. I’m excited to see him play.”
Hill has three touchdowns among his 12 receptions for 159 yards.
• What happens when you make three field goals in a game for the second straight week, and when you’ve set a 49ers record by making 29 in a row? If you’re Robbie Gould, you win NFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors, which he did Wednesday. Neither that award nor his streak have fazed Gould.
“I don’t care about records,” Gould said. “The only record that matters to me is about wins.”
Gould made it a point to praise the 49ers’ three special teams coaches,
long snapper Kyle Nelson and holder Bradley Pinion while also tipping his hat to the 49ers’ “rich history” of quality kickers such as Phil Dawson, David Akers and Joe Nedney.
Last year, Gould also won the player-of-theweek award in Weeks 13 and 15, en route to making the NFL’s third-most field goals in a season (49). He’s on pace for 48 this year.
• Solomon Thomas shared a heart-wrenching, first-person narrative about his sister Ella’s Jan. 23 suicide, and while the former Stanford defensive lineman seeks to help others with depression, he has his own battles.
“I’m also struggling every day,” Thomas said in the ESPN The Magazine article. “Sometimes life just sucks and I go to a dark place. She was my best friend and my only sister, and I won’t ever get to talk with her again. I just want her back, and there’s nothing I can do about it. The days are hard. The nights are harder.”
Thomas’ ESPN story does not touch much on his playing career; he’s playing less than half of the defensive snaps. Rather, Thomas is becoming an outspoken advocate for mental health.
“I’m trying to figure out ways to start something to help fight this national health crisis,” Solomon said. “I want to go talk to middle schools, because that seems to be when kids start to feel overwhelmed emotionally.”
• Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) and guard Joshua Garnett (toe) did not practice. If Tartt can’t play, Antone Exum likely would replace him. Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (ankle) and guard Mike Person (foot) were limited. The Chiefs practiced without safety Eric Berry (heel) and defensive end Chris Jones (groin).