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Reuben Foster, a first-round draft for the 49ers last year, has been cut from the team following his second arrest on a domestic violence charge. (Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office)

49ers Cutting 1st-Round Draft Pick Arrested Again for Domestic Violence

By Ross Kelly November 25, 2018 at 9:53am

The San Francisco 49ers are cutting 2017 first-round pick Reuben Foster after his latest brush with the law.

Foster was arrested at the team hotel on Saturday night ahead of the 49ers game in Tampa, according to ESPN.

He was booked on charges of domestic violence and the team waited no time in allowing the situation to play out:

The San Francisco 49ers are releasing Reuben Foster.

— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) November 25, 2018

#BREAKING San Francisco 49ers Reuben Foster arrested for domestic battery https://t.co/JVoe0oOrur pic.twitter.com/dxtFS11PQP

— KRON4 News (@kron4news) November 25, 2018

According to ESPN, Tampa police reported that Foster and a woman were involved in a verbal altercation Saturday night in which Foster “slapped her phone out of her hand, pushed her in the chest area and slapped her with an open hand on the right side of her face.” Police also noticed a one-inch scratch on the woman’s left collarbone

As NFL.com noted, Foster has a history of legal issues and was charged with a felony count of domestic violence in April. At that time he was also charged with felony counts of possession of a weapon and inflicting bodily harm.

Do you think Reuben Foster will play another down in the NFL?

After the woman involved recanted the allegations, Foster ended up only facing a misdemeanor charge for weapon possession. That earned him a two-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on conduct and substance abuse.

Even though the domestic violence charge was dropped, coach Kyle Shanahan said at the time that the 49ers had a zero-tolerance policy on the issue.

“We can promise you guys, if there’s someone who ever hits their significant other, girlfriends, some person like that, that person is not going to be on our team,” Shanahan said, according to ESPN. “I feel strongly about that. I know (GM) John (Lynch) does. I know our ownership does. That’s how we feel about it.

“Obviously, Reuben is on our team right now, so we’re waiting to see how that goes. But, if that’s something that we felt he did or ended up happening, you guys will see how we feel.”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the woman involved in the altercation with Foster on Saturday is the same woman who recanted her domestic violence accusations in April.

In addition to those two arrests, Foster was also arrested for marijuana possession in January and released from jail after posting $2,500 bond.

Foster was the 31st pick of the 2017 NFL Draft even though he was the top-ranked inside linebacker by many NFL teams.

His stock dropped from two events at the 2017 NFL Combine that raised concerns about his character. During the combine it was announced that he failed a drug test and he was also sent home early after getting into an argument with a hospital worker while receiving a medical examination.

Foster played in just 10 games as a rookie and six games this season due to the suspension and various injuries.

For his NFL career, which could very well be over, Foster has 101 tackles, zero sacks and zero interceptions.

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