NFL

Reuben Foster Set to Return to the 49ers

San Francisco's linebacker is eligible to play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs

49ers linebacker Reuben Foster has served a two-game suspension for violations of the NFL’s policies on substances of abuse and personal conduct.

Foster has been allowed to attend meetings at the 49ers’ practice facility, but on Monday he will be permitted to work out and practice with his teammates. He is eligible to play Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Not only is Foster a key playmaker on defense, his personality is felt on both sides of the ball, too.

"Lot of energy," 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo said of Foster after the 49ers’ 30-27 victory over the Detroit Lions on Sunday at Levi’s Stadium. "He’s an exciting guy to be around. Always smiling, always having a good time. It’ll be good to have him back."

The 49ers struggled with missed tackles in the first two games of the season in Foster’s absence. Foster should help the 49ers in that area. It is a discipline that is difficult to practice during the week due to risk of injury, coach Kyle Shanahan said.

"You’re not going to do a bunch of tackling drills in practice," Shanahan said. "That’s not very smart. You’ve got to do it on game day, but to me, when you’re struggling at tackling it means you need 11 guys swarming to the ball, so you don’t put a single guy in space by himself. And the faster you can get more people there the less pressure you put on one guy."

49ers Consider Josh Gordon

General manager John Lynch made a phone to the Cleveland Browns to discuss the availability of wide receiver Josh Gordon, Lynch said on Sunday before the game. The Browns have stated their intention to release Gordon on Monday.

Shanahan certainly knows all about the good and the bad of Gordon, who has been among the least reliable players in the league. Gordon has been the subject of multiple NFL suspensions, appearing in only 11 games since rolling up 1,600 receiving yards during the 2013 season.

Shanahan has repeatedly stated that he likes the 49ers’ group of wide receivers, but he kept the door open to add a player.

"I’m content with our whole team," Shanahan said. "I love our whole team and the guys that we have. I always feel, since camp ended and we got our 53, we can win with the people we have.

"But anytime a player is available, which I don’t know if he is or not. If he isn’t, I’m not allowed to comment. But my same answer ... we will look into every situation to always try to upgrade our team no matter what the case is. But to answer your question, am I happy with what we have? Of course I am."

This 'n' That

Through the first two games, defensive lineman DeForest Buckner has 3 ½ of the 49ers’ five sacks. Only two other 49ers players have recorded more sacks through two games since the sack became an official statistic in 1982. Jeff Stover (1986) and Bryant Young (2007) had four sacks in Weeks 1 and 2. On Sunday, the 49ers sacked Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford twice for minus-18 yards. “I think we have some stuff we need to work on,” Buckner said. “I feel like some guys were winning their one-on-ones, Stafford was just getting the ball out quick. Up front, we’ve got to do a little better job containing the quarterback and getting a hand in his face.” ... Safety Jaquiski Tartt sustained a shoulder injury late in the fourth quarter and was replaced by Antone Exum for the 49ers’ final six defensive plays of the game ... Kicker Robbie Gould set the franchise record with his 27th, 28th and 29th consecutive made field-goal attempt on Sunday. Phil Dawson previously held the 49ers record with 27 consecutive made kicks in 2013. Gould has made at least one field goal in 22 consecutive games, a streak that began on Dec. 11, 2016, while with the New York Giants ... Rookie D.J. Reed’s apparent 101-yard kickoff return to open the second half was negated due to his own facemask penalty on a stiff arm. But he was still credited with a 90-yard return. It was the longest kickoff return for a 49ers player since Kyle Williams had a 94-yard return on Sept. 23, 2012 at Minnesota.

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