Big change for Foster:
From draft-day celebration to strong rookie season to question mark.
The 49ers fell so hard for Reuben Foster that they celebrated wildly when they stopped his fall in the draft.
In April, their draft room exploded after they made the Alabama linebacker the penultimate pick in the first round. Why?
Moments after selecting the Butkus Award winner, general manager John Lynch told reporters the No. 31 pick was ranked No. 3 on the team’s draft board and it was “very likely” they would have selected him 28 spots earlier if their first selection, Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, wasn’t available.
“We got two of our top three players,” Lynch said. “… We’re thrilled. We’re ecstatic. We
think these guys have traits that encompass what we want to be about as a football organization.”
Ten months later, it’s not clear if Foster will be with the 49ers’ organization much longer after exhibiting traits that scared other teams off in the draft. On Sunday morning, a month after he was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Alabama, Foster was arrested on charges of domestic violence, threats and possession of an assault weapon.
On Monday, the San Jose Mercury News reported the alleged victim, Foster’s longtime girlfriend, told police Foster physically dragged her during an argument at a home in Los Gatos. Foster allegedly threw her belongings onto a front walkway and balcony during the argument, according to the report.
Foster, who has been working out at the 49ers’ facility and living in the South Bay for the past two weeks, met with team officials Monday, NFL Network reported. The 49ers are continuing to gather information about Foster’s arrest before deciding on his future with the team. An NFL spokesman said the league “will look into the matter.” Under the NFL’s domestic-violence policy, players receive a six-game suspension for a first incident and a lifetime ban for a second incident.
As part of their decisionmaking process, the 49ers could be asking this: Can Foster be trusted to stay out of legal trouble if he’s allowed to remain on the roster?
Consider: Foster’s two arrests in the first 41 days after the final game of his rookie season were preceded by incidents that happened before his NFL debut. At last year’s combine, he failed a drug test because of a diluted sample and was kicked out of the event because of an altercation with a hospital employee. His poor decision-making extended to his first moments with the 49ers: His draft party was sponsored by a marijuana and tobacco vaporizer company. Even before the incidents at the combine, one NFL team reportedly removed him from its draft board because of his “issues with life skills.”
Foster has a troubled background, including a horrific incident when he was a baby. His father shot his estranged wife, who survived while she was holding a 19-month-old Reuben. The father became a fugitive for 16 years before finally being brought in on charges, then sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Foster’s arrest Sunday, of course, is easily his most serious offense and places a spotlight on Lynch, who declared Foster his favorite player in the draft and continued championing him throughout a debut season in which he flashed All-Pro ability. In November, Lynch again hailed Foster’s passion for football: Lynch recalled how those in attendance got “goosebumps” when Foster tried to explain his love for the sport when the 49ers met with him at the combine.
Lynch has been charged with changing the 49ers’ culture and he has earned rave reviews.
In April, the 49ers released starting cornerback Tramaine Brock the day after he was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence for allegedly attempting to strangle his girlfriend. The charges were dropped a month later.
Lynch since has shed the roster of others who, for various reasons, might not have enhanced locker-room chemistry.
In August, the 49ers released linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who has had multiple legal issues during his career. In October, the 49ers released disgruntled linebacker NaVorro Bowman less than a week after he grumbled about a reduction in playing time and requested a trade. Two weeks later, they traded cornerback Rashard Robinson, who was kicked off the team at LSU for repeated rules violations and recently had engaged in a sideline tantrum.
The common thread between Brock, Brooks, Bowman and Robinson: Those were players Lynch inherited.
In contrast, Foster is Lynch’s second-ever draft pick and parting with him after 10 games could be a stain on a GM resume that is mostly impressive.
In April, the 49ers spoke with Brock as part of their investigation and quickly determined the allegations warranted his release. A week later, Lynch disputed the notion the decision didn’t come with an on-field cost.
“There’s been some conjecture that we didn’t think highly” of Brock, he said. “That couldn’t have been further from the truth. He was a starting player for us. So that was not easy.”
Foster could be a cornerstone player. Severing ties wouldn’t be easy, particularly given Lynch’s connection to Foster, but it could be necessary.