John Lynch outlines preseason plan for Reuben Foster, discusses Eli Harold trade

After Thursday's practice, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan shared his thoughts on the decision to trade linebacker Eli Harold to the Detroit Lions. General manager John Lynch joined KNBR on Thursday night and discussed the departure of the fourth-year player.

"It's a tough one because Eli's been everything that we could ask for in terms of the way he comes to work each and every day," Lynch said during the Tolbert & Lund show. "It's just our SAM linebacker position is one that, frankly, less and less is on the field because of the way people are playing this game — that is with three wide receivers. So really, your base set is your nickel. So our SAM has to be able to do other things.

"Probably related to the Reuben Foster offseason, we gathered a lot of stack linebackers that we think can play at a high level. So you can use your SAM linebacker as a rusher in your nickel defense if you can use him in different spots as a linebacker."

While looking at what the 53-man roster might look like, the 49ers decided to start asking around the league if there was interest in Harold. There was.

"We felt it was in Eli's best interest and our best interest," Lynch added.

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Reuben Foster will be forced to sit out the 49ers' first two games of the regular season. He will not be eligible to return to the team until after its September 16 game against the Detroit Lions.

That means Foster will need to make the most of his preseason snaps. Once done, he will not be able to practice with his teammates until after he has served his league-issued two-game suspension. Foster, a starter on defense, may even see some playing time during the 49ers' final preseason matchup — a game in which starters typically do not play.

"Right now, that was our plan, is that in the fourth preseason game, he would continue to play and try to get himself ready," Lynch said. "And then see if he can stay in great shape during those two weeks.

"Until then, we'll look at Reuben, and we'll continue to look at guys like Malcolm Smith (who) is going to be back in the lineup, it looks like. Get him a look in there with Fred Warner, a guy who's really played at a high level, and continue to look at Brock Coyle, and all of these guys, to see what the right mix is.

"We'll continue to search for that."

You can listen to the entire interview with Lynch below.

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Another player who might see some playing time in that final game against the Los Angeles Chargers is cornerback Richard Sherman, Shanahan revealed on Thursday afternoon. Sherman is set to play this weekend against the Indianapolis Colts, which will be his first in-game action since last November. A hamstring injury kept him sidelined for the 49ers' first two exhibition games.

"He's finally got to the point where we feel he can go and not have setbacks. Now it's what he needs to do to get himself ready for Minnesota," Shanahan said. "I know a lot of that has to do with getting him some playing time this week. Based off how this goes and how practice goes next week, I'll talk to him and see how much he thinks he needs versus [the Chargers]."