Reuben Foster remains polarizing, but Washington’s coaches are committed to giving him a chance
The perceived double standard from a coach who has said he will not tolerate sexual harassment and domestic violence in the organization speaks to the dichotomy of Foster’s image inside Washington’s facility — where he worked tirelessly to rehabilitate his knee — and how he is seen outside that facility, where, for many, the arrests still define him.
Rivera spoke to both Foster and Guice before making his decisions, praising Foster for “doing things the right way” and saying that “certain things came to light” about Foster’s arrest and that Foster was “exonerated for the most part.” Rivera remained silent about his conversation with Guice, and his refusal to answer questions about whether factors other than the arrest led to Guice’s release lingered heavy in the air.
Some in the organization who have dealt with both players describe Guice as immature and sometimes unreliable; meanwhile, they praise Foster for his enthusiasm and willingness to support everyone in the building. No one, former Alabama teammate Ryan Anderson said, pushed injured quarterback Alex Smith harder during his rehabilitation last fall than Foster.
One person involved in the decision to claim Foster in 2018 described him as an “alpha-male Ray Lewis-type,” referring to the way Lewis became a larger-than-life presence in the Baltimore Ravens’ locker room, helping lead the Ravens to two Super Bowl victories. It was an odd comparison, perhaps, considering Lewis’s own complicated past, but one that captured the tangled enthusiasm Washington’s coaches and executives have for Foster.
Nick Saban, Foster’s coach at Alabama, sold Foster hard to Washington before the 2017 draft, a person with knowledge of the conversation said, praising Foster for his pass coverage as well as his ability to force teammates to lift weights and do drills. Washington planned to take him with the 17th pick, shifting only when defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, Foster’s Alabama teammate, fell further than expected. Foster went 31st to the 49ers.
The same person said that when San Francisco released Foster, Washington’s front office claimed him out of fear that rivals such as the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles would instead, adding that the team felt comfortable that the charges against him would be dropped.
In the time since, people from both coaching regimes have praised Foster, using words such as“leader” and “fantastic” to describe him. Steve Russ, the team’s new linebackers coach, recently praised Foster’s discipline in preparing himself to play again. Rivera wondered aloud whether Foster might have “needed a change in scenery” after his time with the 49ers.
On Friday, Foster spoke publicly for the first time in more than two years, addressing reporters on a video conference after practice. He was nervous, laughing at times and near tears in others as he talked about what might amount to his final chance at football. He raved about the advice he received from Malcolm Blacken, the team’s senior director of player development, who Foster said “showed me stuff that I was lacking and helped guide me on certain paths.”
When asked whether he recognized himself as the person described in the arrest documents, Foster replied: “To know Reuben is to love Reuben; that’s all I have to say. I love myself, and I always keep myself happy.”
It was the kind of response those who have known him for years say he is likely to give: playful, naive and optimistic.
Rivera has been given extraordinary power to remake the team and its culture. Given Foster’s arrests and last year’s injury, it would have been easy for him to let go of the linebacker. He would not have been criticized for the move. Activating Foster and hoping he becomes the player he once was is a gamble, just as holding on to Guice would have been. But it’s clearly a gamble Rivera wanted to take.
Read more:
