Smith a warning for 49ers on Foster

General manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan have been on the job for only 13 months, but let’s hope they’re playing close attention to a piece of the 49ers’ past. The Aldon Smith piece of the past. Because the sad tale of Smith, one that is continuing to unfold, started with the 49ers. And there is a lesson to be learned.

An especially important lesson in the context of linebacker Reuben Foster.

Smith was arrested again this week, charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, assault with force, false imprisonment and vandalism. It is just the most recent event in a long string of criminal behavior.

Just the latest in a history of disturbing decisions. Smith has become a pathetic punch line. Now 28, he is out of excuses and out of the league. The Raiders, his second-chance team, released him Monday after last seeing him on the field Nov. 15, 2015. A long time ago.

So long ago it might be easy for some to forget that Smith was once a rising superstar. A first-round draft pick. A defensive Rookie of the Year candidate. A team MVP. A Pro Bowl selection.

A player whose talent trumped all the trouble he caused.

Now, he’s in the NFL refuse bin. A discarded man who couldn’t handle

the fame and money and temptation. Whose attempts at getting help and rehabilitation have fallen flat time and again. Though the football piece is minimal compared with the potential danger he causes to others, Smith has left teams wondering whether they could count on him.

That should sound disturbingly relevant to Lynch and Shanahan.

Foster, 23, is a rising superstar. The best defensive player on the field for the 49ers as a rookie. A player whose talent is trumping the trouble he’s causing.

Foster started his pattern of bad decision-making even earlier than Smith. Foster failed a drug test at the 2017 NFL combine and was kicked out after an altercation, causing his draft position to drop.

Since then, he was reportedly the victim of armed robbery in the middle of the night. He was arrested in his home state of Alabama for marijuana possession. He was arrested last month on suspicion of domestic violence, making threats and assaultweapon possession charges in Los Gatos. He is facing two potential arraignments in the coming months, if charges are filed.

Last week at the combine, Shanahan said that Foster “has put us in a tough situation.”

The 49ers are ahead of the curve with Foster, more than they ever were with Smith. That’s because Shanahan and Lynch seem to be more in touch with reality than former general manager Trent Baalke and former head coach Jim Harbaugh were in Smith’s case.

Baalke built his reputation on the selection of Smith, a surprising first-round pick. And, in part to protect his own ego, he enabled Smith at every turn:

When Smith was first arrested for a DUI just weeks after his rookie season ended.

When he was stabbed at a party at his house, where gunshots were fired (eventually resulting in charges of possessing an assault weapon).

When he drove drunk into a tree at 7 a.m. on a Friday before a Sunday game.

When he made a bomb threat at Los Angeles International Airport. Baalke wasn’t alone in his coddling. The worst thing Harbaugh ever did as head coach was put Smith on the field 48 hours after he had been bailed out of jail for drunk driving. The message was loud and clear: Talent is way more important than whatever trouble you cause.

However, the same person who was ultimately in charge of the Smith situation is also in charge of Foster. That would be Jed York. The owner should have the final say when it comes to criminal behavior, to players who are a threat to the community.

At one point, in 2014, York made it very clear that the 49ers weren’t going to reward Smith by picking up his contract option even if it made financial sense. But within days, the 49ers picked up the option. Talent was more important than trouble.

After playing 37 games in his first two seasons (including playoffs), Smith played just 27 games in his final three seasons. He missed five games in 2013 while in rehabilitation treatment. He was suspended by the league in 2014, was cut by the 49ers that summer, picked up by the Raiders and suspended again. He hasn’t played football in two seasons. Even before Saturday’s incident, he reportedly had been seen drinking in bars around the Bay Area on a regular basis.

After Smith was released, former Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio tweeted, “Never liked ‘league rules’ that eliminate the ability of teams to offer Aldon and others in his situation the structure they so desperately need.”

It’s a valid point and another lesson for the 49ers. Foster clearly isn’t making good choices on his own. He almost certainly will be suspended by the league, isolating him from the team. The 49ers are going to have to find a way to babysit Foster without coddling him, putting in place a structure for a player who has shown he can’t be trusted.

“I want to help Reuben out just like I want to help any of our players out,” Shanahan said, “but it’s a two-way street. They’ve got to help us out, and there comes a lot of responsibility with that.”

The 49ers have to ask themselves: Is the talent really worth the trouble?

Can they learn from their past?