Reuben Foster Claimed off Waivers by Redskins After 49ers Release

Reuben Foster apparently won't have to wait long before getting another chance to continue his NFL career. 

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Washington claimed Foster off waivers Tuesday after the San Francisco 49ers released him over the weekend. Foster will now wait to see if the NFL suspends him for violating the league's personal conduct policy, according to Schefter. 

Schefter later noted Foster has been added to the NFL's commissioner exempt list—which requires him to stay away from team activities—while the league investigates.

Tom Pelissero of NFL network reported Washington was the only team to make a claim.

Washington senior vice president of player personnel Doug Williams issued a statement about the team's decision to claim Foster:

"Today we have claimed the rights to LB Reuben Foster. The Redskins fully understand the severity of the recent allegations made against Reuben. If true, you can be sure these allegations are nothing our organization would ever condone. Let me be clear, Reuben will have to go through numerous steps including the full legal process, an investigation and potential discipline from the NFL, as well as meetings with counselors associated with the team before he will ever have the opportunity to wear the Burgundy and Gold as a player.  That being said, we decided to investigate the situation with Reuben further by claiming his rights after candid conversations with a number of his ex-Alabama teammates and current Redskins players who were overwhelmingly supportive of us taking this chance. Nothing is promised to Reuben, but we are hopeful being around so many of his former teammates and friends will eventually provide him with the best possible environment to succeed both personally and professionally."

After the Redskins added Foster, the Vikings' director of football administration Anne Doepner donated to Women's Advocates, a women's domestic violence shelter.

The 49ers announced Foster's release prior to their Week 12 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence Saturday night at the team's hotel in Tampa. 

Per NFL.com, a police report from the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff's office stated Foster was booked on a first-degree misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The woman told police that Foster "slapped her phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area and slapped her with an open hand on the right side of her face."

According to Evan Sernoffsky, Eric Branch and Steve Rubenstein of the San Francisco Chronicle, Foster and the woman, Elissa Ennis, were involved in a separate domestic disturbance incident in October. A neighbor called police after hearing an argument between the couple stemming from "material found on his cell phone."

Foster was previously arrested in February for suspicion of domestic violence, threats and possession of an assault weapon. 

In mid-April, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office formally announced Foster had been charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor. The domestic violence charges were dismissed in May, with the judge citing insufficient cause and lack of evidence after Ennis testified under oath that she lied to police about the nature of the original attack. The judge reduced the remaining felony charge of possession of an illegal firearm charge to a misdemeanor, to which Foster pleaded no contest in June.

Foster was suspended for the first two games of the 2018 season for violating the NFL's conduct and substances of abuse policies, the latter of which stemmed from a January arrest for possession of marijuana. 

The 49ers selected Foster at No. 31 overall in the 2017 NFL draft. The former Alabama star has 29 tackles in six games this season.