Redskins coach Jay Gruden said Wednesday there is "no guarantee" Reuben Foster will ever play for the team.
“It's a team decision,” Gruden told reporters. “I think we all had our hands in it. And we accept, obviously, the questions; but we want to let the process play out and see what happens and get to the bottom of it. There's no guarantee he's ever going to play here, to be honest with you. He's got a lot of work to do — personally, with the team, with the NFL, with himself — before he even thinks about playing football again.”
Washington claimed the linebacker off waivers Tuesday, two days after the 49ers released him. Foster was arrested after an alleged domestic violence incident at the team hotel in Tampa, Fla., Saturday.
Doug Williams, the Redskins' senior vice president of player personnel, said in a statement after the signing that the team had looked into Foster's arrest before making the move. However, according to USA Today, the Redskins did not contact the police following Foster's domestic battery arrest. The report cited an anonymous source.
The Eagles were reportedly the only team to contact the police department.
Foster was placed on the commissioner's exempt list Tuesday following the Redskins' announcement.
The NFL has placed #Redskins LB Reuben Foster on the commissioner’s exempt list while they review the matter of his arrest over the weekend, per a league spokesman. He may not practice or attend games.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 27, 2018
Foster was suspended for the first two games of the season following a weapons charge stemming from another incident earlier in the year.
“We understand that it’s going to be a long process for him,” Gruden said. “But he’s a young player. He made a mistake or two; and at the end of the day, we decided to take a chance and deal with it.”