Reuben Foster: I hung up on Saints after 49ers called to draft me

Reuben Foster had to wait until the No. 31 selection to be picked by the San Francisco 49ers in Thursday night's NFL draft, but the Alabama linebacker says he was almost a member of the New Orleans Saints.

And he had to juggle phone calls from both teams as the ordeal unfolded.

Foster said in a news conference Friday that he first received a call from the Saints late on Thursday night, with the team informing him of its plan to take him with final selection of the night at the No. 32 slot.

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But while he and his family were still on the line with the Saints, he then received a call from the 49ers. Foster's girlfriend was on the phone with the Saints at the time of the 49ers call. He said the Saints were welcoming her and his family.

"I told (49ers general manager) John Lynch that it was too late. I said, 'man, coach (sic), you have the 34th pick, it's too late. The New Orleans Saints about to get me.' "

But the 49ers had traded up with the Seattle Seahawks to move up to the penultimate pick of the round and take Foster. He said that he had been hoping to go to San Francisco.

As for whether it was awkward getting back on the line with the Saints after learning his fate from the 49ers?

"No," Foster said with a laugh. "I hung up."

Follow Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz on Twitter @MikeMSchwartz.

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