San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said on Monday that the team is heading into Thursday's draft with the assumption that linebacker Reuben Foster will not be available for the foreseeable future -- if ever again.
"The gravity of these charges has not been lost on us," Lynch told reporters. "We take it extremely seriously. We do feel like patience is the right approach right now. We're going to learn things through this legal process.
"But I do want to be abundantly clear that if these charges are proven true, if Reuben did indeed hit this young lady, he won't be a part of our organization going forward. That's the standard we want on our team. That's the standard we're going to operate under."
Just because the 49ers are moving forward while being prepared for the worst-case scenario, it doesn't necessarily mean the team feels an overwhelming need to come out of this year's draft with a new linebacker as part of its rookie class.
Jim Trotter of NFL Network caught up with Lynch after Monday's press conference to ask him about Foster and how his situation is impacting the team's draft plans.
"I think when I say that, we're hopeful that [Foster] will be (with the team)," Lynch said. "But he's in the middle of a legal process right now that is going to play out. I think you have to make some preparations. I think we've already done that too.
"We re-signed Brock Coyle, who's a guy we are really excited about. Malcolm Smith, who we signed as a free agent (in 2017), we were really excited about last year. He was on IR because of a torn [pectoral muscle]. He's back. We went and got Korey Toomer from the Chargers. So we've made some moves there.
"Might we have to bolster that in the draft? That may be something, but I don't feel like we feel like we have to come out of this draft with a linebacker. It could be an area that we do address."
First-round prospects like Tremaine Edmunds of Virginia Tech and Roquan Smith of Georgia, along with several lower-round prospects, have visited with the team during the pre-draft process. It would shock a lot of people if the 49ers didn't address the linebacker position at all. It's also tough to know what the truth is during the days leading up to the draft since NFL decision makers do everything in their power to mask their true intentions.
Right now, the focus for Lynch and his staff is figuring out what will happen with the eight picks ahead of the 49ers.
"If anyone has the answers, I'm looking for them," Lynch said.
