The San Francisco 49ers announced Monday the signings of RB DeShaun Foster, LB Dontarrious Thomas and QB J.T. O'Sullivan.
Foster (6-0, 222) enters his seventh season after seeing action in 63 games with 40 starts during his six-year career with the Carolina Panthers. Originally a second round (34th pick overall) selection by Carolina in the 2002 NFL Draft out of UCLA, Foster has recorded 851 carries for 3,336 yards with 10 touchdowns and 126 receptions for 996 yards with four touchdowns. He has posted more than 800 rushing yards in each of the past three seasons. In 2007, Foster started all 16 games and totaled 876 rushing yards and 182 receiving yards.
Thomas (6-2, 241) enters his fifth NFL season after originally being drafted in the second round (48th overall pick) of the 2004 Draft out of Auburn University by the Minnesota Vikings. A veteran of 59 games with 10 starts, Thomas totaled 145 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and five passes defensed during his four seasons with the Vikings. He also averaged over 11 special teams tackles a season, recording a total of 46 stops.
O'Sullivan (6-2, 227) enters his sixth season after originally being drafted in the sixth round (186th pick overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft out of Cal-Davis by the New Orleans Saints. In 2007 as a member of the Detroit Lions, he completed 13 of 26 passes for 148 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in four games played. Prior to joining the Lions, O'Sullivan was allocated to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europa by the Chicago Bears, where he was named 2007 Offensive Co-MVP after leading the league with a 103.1 passer rating on 160 of 235 passes for 1,997 yards and 15 touchdowns. It was his second stint with the Galaxy, having played for the team in 2004 and finishing with the league's second best passer rating (91.9) as he led Frankfurt to the World Bowl.
After serving as the third quarterback for the Saints during his first two seasons (2002-03), O'Sullivan was part of a trade four games into the 2004 season that saw he and a Saints 2005 second-round draft choice exchanged for Green Bay Packers cornerback Mike McKenzie and a conditional 2006 draft choice. He then went on to serve as the Packers third quarterback for 11 games before seeing action in the season-finale in a kneel-down situation. In 2005, O'Sullivan spent nine weeks on the Chicago Bears practice squad before being signed to the active roster of the Minnesota Vikings and serving as the team's third quarterback for the remaining eight contests of the season. In 2006, O'Sullivan was a member of the practice squad for both the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers.
