Reuben Foster had himself a quite a week. He had his domestic violence charge dropped, his marijuana charge dismissed, and his gun charge reduced to a misdemeanor. Going into the week, his status on the 49ers was in question and if put through a lengthy trial along with an also lengthy suspension, he was one of the more crucial question marks the 49ers faced.
NFL.com posted a story on one burning question each team faced and cited Foster as the question of the 49ers:
Uncertainty surrounds 2017 first-rounder Reuben Foster, who will learn May 23 whether he will stand trial on felony domestic violence and weapons charges. Additionally, Foster has a June 20 court hearing pertaining to a marijuana possession arrest from January. Regardless of the outcomes of both cases, the linebacker remains subject to potential NFL discipline under the league’s personal conduct policy and/or the substances of abuse policy. Foster was expected to be a large part of the 49ers’ defense, but the uncertainty about his future could leave the team searching for answers. Sure, San Francisco has made some moves to shore up its defense, signing cornerback Richard Sherman in free agency and drafting linebacker Fred Warner in the third round. They also get back linebacker Malcolm Smith, who missed the entire 2017 season with a pectoral injury. But Foster’s status continues to linger, and any extended absence will have an adverse effect on the defense.
Now that Foster’s legal issues have lessened and he’s rejoined the team, this isn’t so much of a burning question. So what is?
Personally I think it’s the play of Jimmy Garoppolo and if he can keep up what he showed to close out the 2017 season. I already asked if he may regress, and I think he’ll get better, but given his limited sample size and how history has shown seven games just isn’t enough (especially when moved to a different team), I think he now becomes the burning question. Will he be Steve Young or Matt Cassel? We still just don’t know. Given how much money the 49ers paid him, it was a risk any way you look at it.
But there’s others, the 49ers guard position is anyone’s guess, but Joshua Garnett is already getting praise from Kyle Shanahan. Richard Sherman’s ankle injury is a huge question mark, but he seems to be progressing fine.
What do you think is the burning question for the 49ers now?