The Philadelphia Eagles did not claim former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster off waivers on Tuesday. Instead, their NFC East rival, the Washington Redskins were awarded Foster.
However, unlike Washington, the Eagles were reportedly the only NFL team to reach out to the Tampa Bay police department about Foster’s misdemeanor domestic battery arrest, according to A.J. Perez of USA TODAY Sports.
Foster was arrested Saturday night at the team’s hotel in Tampa Bay, Fl. on suspicion of domestic battery and was immediately released by the Niners on Sunday.
According to the criminal affidavit from the Tampa police, the alleged victim was the same woman who accused Foster of domestic violence earlier this year and later renounced it, accused the embattled linebacker of “pushing her in the chest” and “slapping her with an opening hand.”
This latest incident was Foster’s third arrest in 2018, and the second accusation of DV in the last 12 months. The former first-round pick was suspended for the first two games of this season for violating the league’s policies on personal conduct and substance abuse.
Nevertheless, it does not come as a surprise that the Eagles did their due diligence on Foster. Before the 2017 NFL Draft, Philadelphia reportedly hosted the former Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker for a pre-draft visit but had concerns about his character issues.
Ultimately, the Eagles passed on Foster, who slid in the first round and picked defensive end Derek Barnett with the No. 14 overall pick.
Even though he is an amazing talent on the football field, Foster has a litany of off the field issues that overshadow his play.
In addition to him being claimed by Washington, the 24-year-old linebacker was also placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Tuesday as the league investigates this latest incident of domestic violence.
It is unclear if Foster will play or practice again this year, depending on how the investigation pans out. In six games with the Niners this season, the 6-foot-1 linebacker racked up 29 total tackles, three tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, and a pass deflection.
