San Francisco 49ers: Why Kyle Shanahan showed transparency with Reuben Foster

With Reuben Foster again coming into the spotlight with alleged domestic violence charges, the San Francisco 49ers officially released him Monday morning. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has since discussed the situation surrounding Foster.

Since the San Francisco 49ers drafted linebacker Reuben Foster in the 2017 NFL Draft, he has had his fair share of controversy, to say the least. In what is so far only a very short career, he has already been suspended coming off the back of a misdemeanor gun charge and misdemeanor marijuana possession charge during the 2018 offseason.

Foster was also charged by the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office with alleged felony domestic violence. However, Foster’s ex-girlfriend later came out stating she had fabricated the allegations, and the charges were dismissed.

Foster’s latest trouble stems from fresh domestic violence charges while in Tampa Bay preparing for the 49ers’ Week 12 matchup against the Buccaneers. His alleged accuser is again his ex-girlfriend, who was reportedly at the team hotel with Foster.

The 49ers were unwilling to extend any more leeway towards Foster and the decision was made to ultimately part ways.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan talked with the media during his Monday press conference, detailing his thoughts on Foster:

Kyle Shanahan Week 13 Monday Press Conference

Kyle Shanahan recaps the loss in Tampa and provides early Week 13 injury updates.

Posted by San Francisco 49ers on Monday, November 26, 2018

Shanahan learned of the news of Foster’s arrest Saturday night just prior to going into the team meeting.

"We spent a high pick on Reuben and he’s not here anymore. So, obviously that’s not how we planned on it to go. Any time that happens, you look into all those situations. We did put a lot of work into Reuben. But we also knew Reuben had a string of making bad decisions. We knew that when we took him. We thought he would improve and we were going to do everything we could to help him.Obviously, any time you’re dealing with domestic violence or anything like that, when there is a victim in domestic violence, there’s not many things in this world more wrong than domestic violence and things like that."

While the 49ers were happy to let the process play out last time surrounding the charges laid against Foster, he would not be so lucky on this occasion. Already on thin ice with the 49ers, Shanahan was asked if they considered waiting to see what he had to say on the situation surrounding the new allegations made against him:

"Not this time. That’s what I’m trying to explain the difference. It didn’t matter by this time. We know the situation that happened the first time, and it was very important to me whether he did or didn’t do what he was being accused of.If someone hits a female or a significant other, that’s not a person who’s going to be on our team. That’s very simple. I was very direct with him that if he didn’t prove to us that we could trust how he made decisions and stuff it didn’t matter whether he was right or wrong."

With Foster losing the trust of both Shanahan and general manager John Lynch, the release of Foster is something that had to happen. When a player continues to make mistakes and get themselves involved in situations that reflect badly not only on themselves, but also the team, the decision has to be made whether keeping that player around is in the team’s best interest.

Both Shanahan and Lynch came out following the initial news that the 49ers intended to release Foster that the decision was made to protect the team. Shanahan elaborated on this:

"Protect the team is for every single person in our organization to know that there’s not one person who is bigger than this organization. Whether it’s a player, whether it’s a coach, it really doesn’t matter. It means understand that you have a responsibility and you are not bigger than our organization and you cannot do things and think that it’s just you. You represent our place."

The 49ers were forced to make some roster moves at linebacker to help bolster their defense. They promoted James Onwualu from the practice squad to the 53-man roster. They have also signed Tyrell Adams after he was waived by the Houston Texans.

With the NFL taking a hard stance against domestic violence, it has not stopped teams around the league taking an interest in Foster since being released. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported earlier Tuesday that the Washington Redskins claimed Foster off waivers:

The Redskins were quick to put out a statement with regards to the signing:

Rapoport also stated that “Foster has been placed on the Commissioner Exempt list and the NFL will continue to review the matter.”

Only time will tell if Foster is to survive in the league. Continued arrests and off field drama will only hamper his chances of sustaining a career in the NFL.