We have a little more clarity with regard to the legal status of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster. The Santa Clara court system has set an April 12th court date for Foster in his domestic violence and weapons case. The date is a place-holder as charges have to be filed. However, a spokesperson for the DA’s office said, “we would be making our decision known around that time.”
The Santa Clara County district attorney has set April 12 as its placeholder arraignment date for 49ers LB Reuben Foster. As far as potential domestic violence/weapons charges go, “we should be making our decision known around that time,” a DA spokesman tells me.
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 28, 2018
There had been some thought a decision would come in March, but the DA’s office previously dismissed that notion. Now, it would appear April 12th is the date we’ll find out whether or not Foster will be charged, and if so, whether he’ll be charged with misdemeanors or felonies. The crimes in question are wobblers, which allow the DA to decide whether or not to charge as a felony or misdemeanor.
The 49ers have tried not to offer too much detail on Foster’s situation, but comments from both GM John Lynch and CEO Jed York suggest they do not expect Foster’s situation to escalate. If charges are filed, particularly felony charges, this could change. But in the meantime, if they do not get any surprises between now and April 12th, I expect Foster to remain on the 49ers roster.
It is worth noting that the 49ers report to their offseason workout program on April 16, which means this comes the week before. Jed York talked earlier today about how having this happen during the offseason gives the team more time to make a decision. The offseason program is voluntary, but if a decision was not made by then, the team could ask Foster to stay away from the facility. The first mandatory event is minicamp in June. However, it seems like we’ll know one way or another where this is headed in two weeks.