Just minutes after San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was cleared of felony domestic violence charges, the team opened its door for him to rejoin his teammates.
General manager John Lynch issued a statement, shared by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
“The organization is aware the domestic violence charges against Reuben Foster were dismissed earlier today. As a result, he will have the opportunity to rejoin the team tomorrow. It has been made clear to Reuben that his place on this team is one that must continue to be earned. We will continue to monitor the remaining misdemeanor charge.”
When Foster was initially charged, the 49ers made a decision that he would remain away from the team during the legal proceedings. Now that those have played out in relationship to those felony charges, he’s being welcomed back.
The remaining misdemeanor Lynch refers to is the weapons charge, which was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor during Wednesday’s hearing. Foster has a June 6 court date for that charge.
Of course, the 49ers linebacker also has another pending legal issue stemming from his arrest early in the offseason for marijuana during a visit to Alabama.
Likely, he’s going to face league discipline of some sort, despite being cleared of the domestic violence charges.