49ers sign first-round pick Reuben Foster

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The 49ers on Friday announced the signing of linebacker Reuben Foster to a four-year contract. The 49ers will also have a fifth-year option for Foster, whom the club traded up to select with the No. 31 overall selection.

The 49ers now have eight of their 10 draft picks under contract. Defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, the No. 3 overall pick, and quarterback C.J. Beathard, a third-rounder, are the only picks who have yet to sign their mandatory four-year deals.

Foster has been a limited participant in the 49ers’ offseason program as he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder.

The 49ers had Foster ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the draft, according to 49ers general manager John Lynch. His stock in the draft likely fell due to concerns about his shoulder and off-field issues.

Foster underwent surgery in February. During the first time that NFL teams could have checked on the progress of the surgery, Foster was sent home from NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis after an argument with a hospital worker while he was waiting to undergo a physical.

After he was selected in late-April, Foster said his recovery is on schedule.

“I’m making big progress,” Foster said. “I’ll be limited in OTAs. Training camp, I’ll be full-go, but if it’s my decision, I think I can go now.”

Foster visited with the 49ers in Santa Clara before the draft. The team also sent vice president of football affairs Keena Turner and team chaplain Earl Smith to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to meet with Foster for two days.

“I would tell you that his character is what drew us to him,” Lynch said. “When you start talking football with this young man, he lights up a room. He’s a good kid. I believe in the kid. I think he’ll be a great player for this organization for a long time.”

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