The 49ers need to move on from linebacker Reuben Foster after second arrest

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested for the second time this offseason, this time on domestic violence charges. It’s time the Niners move on from the talented-yet-troubled star.

The San Francisco 49ers need to part ties with their 2017 first-round NFL Draft pick, linebacker Reuben Foster.

This, after Foster was arrested on Sunday on charges of both domestic violence and possession of an assault rifle — news of which was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News.

I agonized a bit about reaching this conclusion. Foster is, after all, arguably the most talented member of San Francisco’s defense. And Pro Football Focus ranked the former rookie the No. 4 overall linebacker in the NFL last season.

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On the field, Foster’s enthusiasm for the game was infectious. He was fun to watch and provided plenty of excitement for Niners fans everywhere.

But that doesn’t excuse his off-field actions. Not at all.

Foster was arrested last January in Alabama for second-degree marijuana possession. That’s one thing, even though the track record of red flags is a concern. This, however, is much more serious. And serious enough to prompt the 49ers to make the decision to cut ties.

Sure, there’s the argument a player’s overall talent ultimately dictates how tolerant a team might be in deciding these kinds of things. It’s sad, but true. The better you are, the likelier a team would be willing to tolerate such actions.

In the Chronicle report, both Sarah Ravani and Eric Branch pointed out the April 2017 incident with former Niners cornerback Tramaine Brock, also involving domestic violence charges, which eventually led to Brock’s release.

General manager John Lynch, per the report, stated each case would be handled on an individual basis after Brock’s release:

"As those situations arise and, hopefully, there won’t be a lot them, we’re going to treat each one of them as a unique and different situation. That’s what we did the other day. … I can also tell you that it wasn’t meant to send a message. I think you let those things happen organically and we did what we felt was the right situation in that situation."

What’s more important here? Setting that precedent or permitting actions like these?

There’s nothing Foster will be able to do to transform his image from this point onward. It’s tarnished forever, if these charges are indeed accurate. And it’s going to be tough for San Francisco fans to pull for the oh-so promising player out of Alabama.

And stop with the whole “due process” stuff. That’s for legal proceedings. Not for the privilege of playing in the NFL.

I won’t be rooting for him anymore. Not if all this is true, and probably not unless he somehow winds up being a voice and ambassador against domestic violence, therefore learning from the incident.

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And even that likely wouldn’t be enough. It shouldn’t be enough for San Francisco either.