The San Francisco 49ers linebacker, Reuben Foster, has been placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt list by the NFL after he was charged with felony domestic violence against his live-in girlfriend. The 49ers made an announced on Sunday night and said that the 2017 first-rounder would not be taking part in the offseason program, at least till the time his legal matters are resolved.
The 49ers said in a statement, “Reuben Foster will not participate in team activities as he is tending to his legal matters. As previously stated, his future with the team will be determined by the information revealed during the legal process.”
Given the fact that this case might take a while to resolve, it could mean that Foster will be missing out the training camp, offseason program, the preseason, and all or part of the regular season as well until the legal matter is resolved.
It is still unclear as to why the team is relating Foster’s future on the legal procedures as all the teams have the authority to investigate into situations like this and to come up with a conclusion of their own, independent of the decisions that are made by the criminal justice system. Indeed, after the Ray Rice debacle looks like the NFL has decided to no longer defer to the authorities when deciding what to do about a player who has been alleged of being engaged in off-field misconduct.
In case of Foster, the simple reality is that if he were a fringe player, then he would have already been cut from the team. His status of being a first rounder, who has always played well as a rookie, has brought Foster some time and a benefit of the doubt. The latest Sunday move by the 49ers allows the team to avoid the PR consequences of letting Foster participate in the offseason program while the matter is still unresolved.
