The San Francisco 49ers announced their 53-man roster on Saturday, and outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks was included. Brooks was indicted a couple weeks back for misdemeanor sexual battery. The 49ers were in Denver at the time preparing for their Week 3 preseason matchup with the Broncos, and he returned to California once the indictment was made official.
His status has remained up in the air since then, with the NFL reviewing the situation. The league has the option of placing Brooks on the Commissioner's Exempt list while determining the next step. However, it appears that will not happen. The 49ers released a statement regarding Brooks following the cutdown:
"We have been in close communication with the league and a preliminary status decision has been made regarding Ahmad Brooks. Ahmad will remain on the active roster. In addition to the steps the organization has taken to this point, both the judicial and the league process under the Personal Conduct Policy will continue. Those processes will dictate any further action."
Fooch's note - The league also released a statement:
NFL: "Based upon our investigation to date, we determined that placing Ahmad Brooks on the Commissioner's Exempt List was not warranted."
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) September 5, 2015
The exempt list does not have a detailed explanation of requirements, but it is possible that since it is a misdemeanor, Brooks is not required to be sidelined. I would assume this means the 49ers will keep him active on game days starting next week. They did not really address this fully, but my guess is he is playing while the legal and personal conduct policy continues its progression.