The San Francisco 49ers appear to have survived a scare involving linebacker Reuben Foster. The rookie suffered a shoulder injury on Wednesday, and the team has been describing it as a sprained AC joint. While it is the same shoulder on which he had surgery, the team is saying this is not related to that. And they actually think he might be able to play on Saturday.
NaVorro Bowman suffered a shoulder injury as well during practice He left the session, but said he could have returned, describing it as a stinger. It sounds like Bowman and Foster suffered similar injuries, and Bowman said it’s something that just comes from playing linebacker. “I’ve probably had a million of them ... You can’t run from it.”
The 49ers let Foster practice on Thursday, but listed him as “limited no contact.” That changed in a hurry as he got into the middle of a scuffle with a Broncos offensive player. There were at least three scuffles during practice, and having your injured linebacker get into it with an opposing player during no-contact work is not exactly ideal. At the same time, the fact that he was not completely sidelined for practice even before the fight is a good indication the injury is not serious.
Foster might be fine to play through it, but it would not surprise me if he ended up sitting out this weekend’s game just to be clear on everything. But, we’ll see when Saturday arrives.