The 49ers made a move to clear a roster spot for linebacker Reuben Foster Wednesday, releasing offensive lineman Matt Tobin after just over two weeks with the team. Tobin was signed by the 49ers on September 3 along with safety Antone Exum when running back Jerick McKinnon and safety Marcell Harris were placed on injured reserve.

Tobin (6-6, 310) has played in 57 NFL games (21 starts) in five seasons after joining the league as an undrafted free agent signing of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 out of the University of Iowa. Tobin played four seasons in Philadelphia, then spent the 2017 season with the Seattle Seahawks, where he played in 15 games. He was with the New England Patriots earlier this year before being released at the end of the preseason and was a gameday inactive for his two games with the 49ers.

Foster returns to the 49ers this week after serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's policies on personal conduct and substance abuse. The suspension stems from Foster's two offseason arrests, one of which was for possession of marijuana and another that came as a result of domestic violence charges that were later dropped (Foster was also charged with a felony count of possession of an assault weapon as a result of that arrest that was later reduced to a misdemeanor). With projected starting WILL linebacker Malcolm Smith sidelined due to a hamstring injury and backup Brock Coyle on injured reserve due to a neck injury, the 49ers went with a starting linebacker lineup last week of Mark Nzeocha at SAM linebacker, rookie Fred Warner at MIKE linebacker, and Elijah Lee at Will linebacker. It hadn't been announced heading into Wednesday how the starting lineup would shape up this week, but the team intends on having Foster in that lineup against the Kansas City Chiefs this week.

“Yeah, we plan on it," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday, per 49ers.com. "We’ll discuss more of that tonight. We’ve kind of just been finishing up all this game stuff now. We’ll see how he is in practice on Wednesday. We’ll see how the week goes. He’s only been gone two weeks. I know he’s been working hard while he’s been away, so I plan on him being in there pretty fast.”

Foster played 10 games as a rookie with the 49ers last season and totaled 72 tackles. With his offseason turmoil now fully behind him, Foster now gets the opportunity to pick up where he left off and build on a rookie season that established him as one of the league's rising young linebackers.

"It made me appreciate football a lot better, man," Foster told reporters in July. "It was crazy knowing that football could be gone. Just being back on this field with my brothers and these coaches is a blessing."