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Every team has a hole or two this time of year. Ask most Pittsburgh Steelers media and fans what position the team still needs to fill before the 2023 season kicks off, and it’s at linebacker. After releasing Myles Jack after one season and opting not to re-sign Devin Bush Jr. or Robert Spillane, general manager Omar Khan needed to re-stock Pittsburgh’s inside guys.
He started by signing veteran free agents Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. Mark Robinson, who the Steelers took in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL draft, has shown glimpses in a limited four-game sample size. Beyond that, the depth is questionable, and Holcomb and Roberts have yet to take a snap in the black & gold.
Vince Williams knows a thing or two about spotting a solid linebacker and is confident Reuben Foster will land with the Steelers this offseason. “Yeah he’s going to end up playing for the other Pittsburgh football team,” the former Steelers linebacker posted in a July 2 tweet.
Reuben Foster’s NFL Career Doomed From the Start
Once considered the top inside linebacker of his class, Reuben Foster was selected 31st overall by the San Fransisco 49ers in the 2017 NFL draft. He quickly fell from grace after a brief career marred by injuries and legal issues.
An ankle injury forced Foster to miss six games at the start of his rookie season. In 2018, he was suspended for the first two games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. Then, a domestic violence arrest ultimately left the Niners with no choice but to cut ties with their former first-round pick on November 25, 2018.
The 49ers couldn’t have been surprised — by the injuries or legal trouble. Rotator cuff surgery prevented him from participating in the drills portion of the 2017 NFL Combine. What he was able to take part in was cut short. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Foster got into a “heated” altercation with a male hospital employee after waiting an extended time for his pre-exam and was sent home. It was also revealed he failed a drug test from a diluted sample.
Just when it seemed Foster would get a fresh start with the Washington Commanders, he tore his ACL and LCL on the first snap of a May 2019 minicamp workout. It wasn’t until August 9, 2020, that he was activated off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, but he never took a snap. After his contract expired with Washington, he wasn’t resigned.
The Seattle Seahawks worked out Foster on September 1, 2022, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, but nothing ever came of it.
Reuben Foster Revives Professional Career With USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers
After his failed NFL career, Reuben Foster headed to the USFL and landed with Pittsburgh’s other pro football team, the Maulers.
The 4-6 Maulers represented the North division in the USFL championship game but lost to the Birmingham Stallions 28-12.
But the season wasn’t without its highlights for Foster, named the Week 3 Defensive Player of the Week. In the Maulers’ 21-13 victory over the Philadelphia Stars on April 30, he led with 11 tackles, recorded two tackles for loss, intercepted one pass and broke up another.
He finished the season with 52 total tackles, 0.5 sacks and an interception.
People can change, but the Foster who played in the NFL doesn’t sound like a good fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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