Pittsburgh Maulers linebacker Reuben Foster upends New Orleans Breakers quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson
Pittsburgh Maulers linebacker Reuben Foster upends New Orleans Breakers quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson during a USFL game on Sunday, April 16, 2023, at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.
Former Alabama All-American and NFL first-round draft pick Reuben Foster worked out for the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday.
Foster then provided an update on his possible return to the NFL on his Instagram account. Foster wrote: “Didn’t get the job, but I’m grateful for every opportunity I get. Thank you, @miamidolphins.”
The Dolphins worked out Foster and Terrell Lewis, another linebacker with NFL experience who played with Foster at Alabama. In 2016, Foster’s final season with the Crimson Tide was Lewis’ first.
The Dolphins didn’t sign Lewis either.
In Miami’s 45-15 victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker left the game with a knee injury. On Wednesday, Miami coach Mike McDaniel said Baker would not be placed on injured reserve and described the linebacker’s injury as a “week-to-week deal.”
The state’s Class 6A Lineman of the Year at Auburn High School in 2012 and the Butkus Award winner as the nation’s best linebacker at Alabama in 2016, Foster most recently played in an NFL game on Oct. 28, 2018.
Foster tore the anterior cruciate ligament and lateral collateral ligament in his left knee during an offseason practice with the Washington Redskins on May 20, 2019. He spent two years on Washington’s injured reserve before being out of the game in the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Foster made a comeback earlier this year in the USFL with the Pittsburgh Maulers.
Lewis has played in the NFL more recently. A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Lewis played in 30 regular-season games for the Los Angeles Rams before being waived on Dec. 16, 2022.
The Chicago Bears signed Lewis four days later.
Lewis was on Chicago’s 53-player active roster when the team reduced its preseason roster on Aug. 28 to meet the NFL’s regular-season limit for the 2023 campaign. During the preseason, Lewis had recorded three sacks, including two that forced fumbles.
But the day after the roster cuts, the Bears were awarded two players off waivers, and Lewis was one of the players let go by Chicago to create the roster space for the waiver claims.
Lewis signed with the New Orleans Saints after working out for the team on Sept. 13, but he was released from the practice squad on Oct. 2.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
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