49ers' Reuben Foster excited to be back on field

SANTA CLARA - Last Sunday, Reuben Foster wasn’t even allowed inside Levi’s Stadium. He was suspended. Had to stay far away. So, he drove to a Chick-fil-A near his house to watch the 49ers play. But Chick-fil-A is closed on Sundays.

Foster forgot. He normally works on Sundays. He had to drive back home and watch from there.

This week, he actually gets to play football again. His two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct and substances-of-abuse policies is over.

“I’ve got to be real cautious about getting too excited this week, because it’s my first day back,” Foster said at his locker on Thursday. “Getting overwhelmed is very easy. I do that every time, even if you don’t see it. I tend to do it a lot.”

The 49ers don’t seem to mind. They’re just grateful Foster is back, even if he’s overwhelmed and overexcited.

“Just let it go,” Richard Sherman said, referring to Foster’s eagerness to play “We’re excited to have him. He is excited to be back out there. He brings an incredible energy and speed and explosiveness and physicality to the defense. We appreciate it. We look forward to him joining us out there.”

Foster’s suspension stemmed from two incidents during the offseason. First, he was charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The charges were dropped, but the NFL penalized Foster anyway, because he already had failed a drug test at the NFL’s Scouting Combine.

Next, Foster pleaded no contest to misdemeanor weapons possession. He will be on legal probation for two years. He can’t afford to get in trouble again.

The 49ers drafted Foster with the 31st pick in the first round last year. They traded up to get him. He missed six of the first seven games with a high-ankle sprain, but returned Week 7 and played 10 games. In November, he was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Month. After the season, he made the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team.

“Reuben is one of our best players,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “I think he plays the position (linebacker) very well. 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. We really enjoy having him around.”

The 49ers haven’t had Foster around much lately, though. “He wasn’t allowed at practice,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “To be honest with you, we were so consumed with trying to make sure that we had the rest of the group ready to play. He was here in the building doing his conditioning and whatever he was allowed to do, but as far as football, there wasn’t as much interaction. He went to meetings. We weren’t allowed the one-on-one stuff.”

Foster had to leave the facility when practice began. When he came back the next morning, he could watch film. He was a mere observer. A film critic. And he liked what he observed from the linebacker who started during his absence, rookie Fred Warner.

“I see a dog in Fred,” Foster said. “I see a real mature man who’s about his business. I really salute him for that. I’m proud of him for stepping up and taking control of the defense, wearing that green sticker. I’ve worn the green sticker. It’s hard to wear the green sticker. So, I’m really proud of him.

Wearing the green sticker means Warner gets the plays from the coaches in an audio receiver in his helmet, and relays them to the rest of the defensive players in the huddle. Warner can handle the communication. Foster would rather not. He wants simply to run and hit. He and Warner complement each other.

“They’re both instinctual,” Sherman said. “They trust what they see, and that’s a big part of this game. Being able to play fast and see something and react to what you see. There’s a lot of guys who can be smart on paper, see it on film and say, ‘This is the answer.’ But, going out there and translating it to the field is difficult for a lot of guys. And those two do it as well as anybody.”

Foster and Warner most likely will start and play next to each other for the first time this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Warner will play middle linebacker, and Foster will play weak-side linebacker, away from the tight end.

Notes

Sherman spoke to reporters before practice and seemed healthy. Didn’t limp in or out of the auditorium. But later during the afternoon, he did not practice. He sat out with a “heel” injury, according to the 49ers’ PR staff. They did not explain or comment further.

The heel is connected to the Achilles tendon. Sherman ruptured his right Achilles on Nov. 9. During the offseason, he had surgery on both the right and left Achilles.

Sherman started each of the 49ers first two games this season, and played 100 percent of the defensive snaps. He said his Achilles feels fine.