It's no secret that one of the weakest parts of the Pittsburgh Steelers' football team during the 2022 season was the inside linebackers and the Steelers' front office has been working hard in the offseason to change that by bringing in new faces. So far, the Steelers have signed Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb to help as well as Tanner Muse to provide some depth. The Steelers' front office might not be done signing inside linebackers and there was a former star inside linebacker playing in the United States Football League's (USFL) championship game Saturday night that has a former Steelers asking the team to sign him.
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Steelers' Hopeful Reuben Foster
Former Steelers' Linebacker Suspects Team Will Sign Reuben Foster
Reuben Foster currently plays in the USFL for the Pittsburgh Maulers, who were playing the Birmingham Stallions in the championship. Unfortunately for Foster, the Maulers could not get the victory.
However, Foster played well in the game and was involved in some highlight plays that should definitely have him on the radar of some NFL teams. One former Steelers' linebacker, Vince Williams, was making sure that the team took notice of Foster's play in the championship game when he saw the plays Foster was making.
"Yeah, he's going to end up playing for the other Pittsburgh team," Williams tweeted.
Williams is probably tired of watching insufficient linebacker play from the Steelers' defense just like all Steelers' fans are. If the Steelers listen to Williams and decide to give Foster an opportunity to put on the black and gold, it will be entertaining for the linebacker position battle come training camp.
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Former Steelers' linebacker Vince Williams
Reuben Foster's Career
Foster was a highly touted prospect coming out of high school as he was the number one ranked linebacker in his class. He also had an incredibly successful college football career at Alabama. He was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. Foster was riddled with injuries during his rookie year as he was only able to play in 10 games, making 10 starts.
He was the highest graded rookie linebacker for the games he was able to play. Foster's career was looking promising as long as he could stay healthy. Unfortunately, Foster found himself in a lot of trouble off of the field. He was arrested twice during 2018. One occurrence was for marijuana possession and the other was for suspicion of domestic violence and an assault weapon possession charge. His girlfriend later said she had lied about the incident and was intending to get money from Foster.
Foster was eventually released from the 49ers and claimed off of waivers by the Washington Commanders in late 2018. He was reinstated by the league in April of 2019. Just when things were looking up for Foster, everything fell apart. In his first practice with the team in May of 2019, Foster suffered a knee injury in which he tore his ACL and LCL.
He never played a game for the Commanders before his contract expired following the 2020 NFL season. Foster has had workouts with a couple of NFL teams, but has never been given the opportunity to sign another contract. With his impressive play in the USFL so far, that might change.
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Steelers' Hopeful Reuben Foster
Will The Steelers Sign Foster?
With the additions of Holcomb, Roberts, Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski to the linebacker room already this offseason, it's unlikely the Steelers will listen to Williams and bring Foster in. However, if there is one person on the Steelers' staff who might know what its like to be a bust at the linebacker position, its inside linebackers coach, Aaron Curry. Curry is entering his first season on the Steelers' staff, and has shown a lot of excitement towards the opportunity to turn the inside linebacker room around.
Curry was the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft and, unfortunately, he never found his footing in the NFL and is considered one of the bigger NFL busts of the 21st century. He might feel some sentiment towards Foster, who is just awaiting another opportunity to show his worth in the NFL which Curry never got.
Even with Curry and Williams potentially pushing the front office to take a look at signing Foster, it is highly unlikely that it happens. The Steelers have a full linebacker room and there is a high chance Foster brings more off-field distractions than success on the field.
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