Reuben Foster cost the San Francisco 49ers a first-round pick in 2017 and will cost the team up to $54 million over the next four years. General manager John Lynch acknowledges that the situation with Foster, who was released in November after continually showing poor judgment, forced the 49ers to spend big to find a replacement.
Lynch believes Kwon Alexander can be that replacement. He thinks the linebacker can fill the void left from the Foster mistake.
Lynch joined KNBR on Friday morning and shared why replacing Foster this offseason was so crucial for the 49ers.
"There was a huge void there," Lynch said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "We had drafted Reuben in our first draft thinking, 'Wow, this is the answer right here,' at an extremely important position in our scheme ... Things didn't work out, and so you have to own that, and then move forward. We had a void there, and we needed to fill it."
Lynch believes Alexander can be the impactful defensive star they envisioned in their former first-round pick. Alexander is even four months younger than Foster yet already has four seasons of NFL experience.
Lynch discussed the team's expectations following the addition of Alexander. The 49ers hope his passionate play can energize his defensive teammates and help fans forget about Foster.
"The more we, as a coaching staff, as a personnel staff, got together, Kwon Alexander was the guy we wanted," Lynch said on the "Murph and Mac" show. "We knew he was coming off an ACL injury, so there was some risk in that. But ultimately, we're making this as a long-term decision, and Kwon was a guy we felt fit best with what we do as a defensive scheme. So we put all of our energy and focus on trying to secure Kwon, and we were able to. We're excited. I know Kwon's excited.
"He's in the building now, and working hard on his rehab, and he's going to be a great addition to our defense and to our team. He's really a player who ... I think there's players that are tone-setters, that kind of create an energy for their teammates that they can feed off, and Kwon's really one of those guys. You can see it through the film. You can see it when you talk to his teammates in Tampa, when you talk to anybody who's watched this guy play or played against him. He's that kind of player."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.