He hasn’t played much, but when he has played he has played well.
49ers linebacker Reuben Foster, who played in only two games before November, appeared in all three games this month -- and he performed well enough to become the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month.
Foster, once regarded as a sure-fire top-five pick, slid down the board due to both a positive drug test and an incident with a health-care worker at the Scouting Combine. The 49ers never wavered in their assessment of him, however, and they nabbed him late in the first round.
Foster suffered a sprained ankle in Week One. He returned six weeks later, and he suffered a rib injury.
As note by Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, Foster becomes the fifth 49ers player to win the award. Others were linebacker Chris Borland, linebacker Aldon Smith, linebacker Patrick Willis, and defensive lineman Andre Carter.