Defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson said Saturday that he was “pretty shocked” his former Alabama teammate Reuben Foster was sent home from the Combine.
Dalvin Tomlinson was ‘pretty shocked’ Alabama teammate Reuben Foster got sent home from NFL Combine
Tomlinson didn’t see the entire incident, so he’s unsure what triggered the altercation.
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Jeanna Kelley has been covering the Falcons for The Falcoholic since 2011 and the NFL for SB Nation since 2015.
Foster was involved in a “heated” altercation with medical staff on Friday, and the NFL decided to send him home. On Saturday morning, Foster posted an explanation on his Instagram page, saying that his Alabama teammates knew what happened.
“Talk to Tim (Williams),” Foster said via an Instagram broadcast. “Talk to Ryan (Anderson). Talk to Dalvin (Tomlinson). Them boys know. They were there.”
Tomlinson said he didn’t witness the entire incident.
“I got there toward the end of it, and I really don’t know everything that happened on it,” Tomlinson said. “I was running back and forth between X-rays. I’m going to talk to Reuben later on to find out what happened so I can know the full story, because I’m not really sure what exactly happened and what triggered everything.”
Foster’s disagreement with a member of the medical evaluation staff occurred when Foster became frustrated with the wait time.
Foster threatened to physically confront the medical staff member, and the staff member told Foster to “do it,” according to The MMQB’s Robert Klemko.
Tomlinson said he was surprised because he knows “the real Reuben,” and that this isn’t consistent with his former teammate’s character.
“I was pretty surprised, because I know Reuben’s a levelheaded guy,” Tomlinson said. “Every time he talks to anybody, he’s respectful about it. He always says, ‘Yes, sir,’ ‘No, sir,’ and ‘Yes, ma’am,’ ‘No, ma’am.’ And he’s a pretty respectful person all around, and I know the real Reuben and everything like that. So I was pretty shocked about it.”
Former Alabama defensive end Jonathan Allen, another top prospect in this draft, told reporters that he didn’t hear about what happened to Foster until Saturday. Allen called it “disappointing.”
Foster is a highly touted middle linebacker prospect, and he was medically unable to participate in drills at the combine after undergoing surgery after the National Championship to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Still, being sent home means that Foster misses valuable opportunities to make connections with teams who may want to draft him. The reason he was sent home and the circumstances surrounding it may give teams pause on draft day, also.
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