Mason Foster has encountered a shoulder injury serious enough the Redskins plan to place him on IR, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
The seventh-year veteran linebacker is dealing with a torn labrum, per Schefter. He will undergo surgery, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com adds (on Twitter).
Foster missed Washington’s Week 3 game with the shoulder malady but returned for the team’s subsequent two contests, including Monday night’s game in Philadelphia. Jay Gruden said Foster’s been playing through this malady, one that’s apparently become too severe for Foster to continue to do so.
The veteran inside linebacker’s made 22 starts for the Redskins over the past three seasons. He’s playing in the second season of a two-year contract and stands to become a free agent after this season, one that will not send him to the market on a high note.
Washington has three other inside ‘backers on its active roster, and Zach Brown will need a new running mate. Will Compton lined up alongside Brown when Foster missed Week 3 with the shoulder injury, so he would seemingly be in line to get the first crack at the starting gig. Compton was a full-time starter last season for the Redskins and has opened 30 games with the first unit in his five-season Washington career.