Breaking: Redskins claim Reuben Foster NFL.COM

[Wildbunny]

23 minutes ago, nonniey said:

It doesn't effect the comp pick situation and yes if he becomes part of our roster and lasts till free agency then yes if signs elsewhere he goes into the equation fro comp picks (that would be in the 2021 or 2022 season depending if we pick up his 5th year option). Hmmm 5th year option? - since he was cut by San Fran do we still get a 5th year option?

I believe we do have it, since we claimed him, but I might be wrong.

 

And Yes, if he leaves, he may count as a comp pick, depending on stuff here. Just like Clinton-Dix will if we don't sign him.

[justice98]

18 hours ago, carex said:

I'm gonna say something very unpopular here.

 

Sean Taylor, a man everyone here is paying tribute to recently, pulled a gun on three people over ATVs, he plead no contest and had a plea bargain in place. So mit's not like the Skins have only picked up saints in the past or it's unreasonable for players to get second chances and be forgiven

 

You're not allowed to point that stuff out.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

2 hours ago, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

You could post the press release and someone would say "Fine, but I bet he suits up this Monday night!! Classic Dan Schnieder thinking he's above the legal system!"

 

I'm in the minority on this board and on Twitter...and I take a beating because of it. 

 

I was excited about Taylor's potential and the strides he had made in 2007. But I didn't forget that he was particularly horrible in 2006 on the field. So people get mad at me when I can't agree that he was destined to be a HOF safety. In my book, he flashed a lot in 2004 and 2005, played poorly in 2006, and was having a Pro Bowl season in 2007 before he got hurt. As you said, where it was going to go from there no one knows. Laron Landry had a great season if I recall correctly and that didn't turn into a 7-8 year run of exceptional safety play. 

 

Off the field, who knows. He definitely seemed to have calmed down and was acting more responsibly himself. But, even if those thugs didn't murder him, how do we know that he would have stayed completely out of that world? 

 

I was the same prior to 2007. But I though the talent and improvement were enough to be really optimistic about his upside. I always assumed that he was basically can't miss as long as the off-field stuff didn't derail him. He seemed like defensive Randy Moss to me (Moss was as stable as a guy asked to leave 3 teams on 4 occasions can be).

 

The wild card is Gibbs' leaving. Whether Gibbs was still a great coach or not, he was still a good leader and commanded respect and all those other clichés.

 

Sean Taylor under Jim Zorn and then the Prickish Shanahan during some losing seasons. That's a concern

[justice98]

Literally every team in the league has either acquired or kept people who have run afoul of the law.  Just in the division, the Giants knew Josh Brown was shady, the Cowboys brought in Greg Hardy, and I'm sure the Eagles had somebody of recent vintage.  I vaguely recall Jalen Mills catching a DV case at LSU, but I didnt really follow it that closely to remember what came of it.

 

Point being, teams all over the league put up with questionable characters.  We're just the latest, but really no worse than anyone else. The media, and frankly, some of our own fans will make them out to be the worst thing ever for merely claiming him. 

[RemoveSnyder]

4 hours ago, Unbias said:

Why does being a fan of this team have to be so hard? Seriously, why? 

 

Yeah, I'm no longer willing to stand on the frontline for Dan and Bruce. I simply won't do it anymore. They don't get to use me as a flak jacket anymore. 

[Jumbo]

They turned me into a newt.

[Scotty doesn't know]

Was there this much outcry when Junior Galette was signed? I know his charges were dropped but they caught one incident on video.

[Morneblade]

1 minute ago, Scotty doesn't know said:

Was there this much outcry when Junior Galette was signed? I know his charges were dropped but they caught one incident on video.

 

Oh, the one where he was swinging his belt because he had a mob after him? Sorry, that's not really an indictment on him, that's more just defending himself.

[JSSkinz]

For anyone who wants to hear Doug explain yesterdays press release and the reasoning behind the move.

 

https://omny.fm/shows/the-doc-walker-show/11-29-18-doc-walker-hour-2

[NewCliche21]

4 hours ago, KDawg said:

Oh good... Football discussion. I can actually join in about that

 

Anyone saying he's not good isn't speaking with their head. Or they just haven't paid any attention to him. He is a very good football player. He's not a hall of famer, but a very significant upgrade to us at ILB with the potential to be the second best ILB we've had in here in the last 15 years or so behind London Fletcher. But potential is one hell of a word, isn't it? 

 

His issue is not one of playing ability... but availability. If he's injured, he can't play. If he does something stupid and gets suspended for, say, drop kicking a walrus or something... he can't play. He is another addition to the roster that can't seem to stay on the field. That is my lone issue with the move (from a football perspective, don't twist my words). His on-field ability is tremendous. A 24 year old, highly rated prospect just fell in the team's lap.

 

IF HE IS CLEARED AND CAN PLAY (looking towards next year regardless) then the Skins come out looking squeeky clean with a heck of a prospect.

 

But that availability part has me biting my cheek a little, even IF he's cleared.

 

This is my entire point.  He's been injured a lot and he's only 24.  He's been arrested three times and is now on the exempt list.  I don't care how good he may be; he's not worth the ****storm we have now because he's not going to be available.  

 

Foster two months ago (click for link):

 

Quote

 “I’m happy, just to be happy-go-jolly, just playing the cards right, doing good off the field and on the field. Just going to do nothing off the field so I won’t be ‘off the field.’”

 

It's not like he doesn't get it.  Forget what he's actually been arrested for, we're dealing with a guy who isn't going to be on the field with an attitude like that.  Forget the injury history.

 

From July 28 (click for link):

 

Quote

"I learned from every mistake, everything that’s said, all my flaws. I learned from a lot of things. I just grew from it." ; "[The 49ers] "They stood by me," Foster said. "As family should."
 

From the article: Shanahan and Lynch also made it clear Foster needed to clean up his act off the field if he wanted to ensure his future with the team. The overall message -- that Foster needed to keep his nose clean from this point on -- was heard loud and clear. 

 

"That’s the message that came through, and I respected it," Foster said. "I respected it … They stood by me though. Brotherhood."

 

Quote

1COMMENTS

"It made me appreciate football a lot better, man," Foster said. "It was crazy knowing that football could be gone. Just being back on this field with my brothers and these coaches is a blessing."

 

With this approach, he's never going to be something consistent on the field.  Ever.  And then we're going to be talking to the players about Foster as opposed to this week's opponent or a win or a loss or a division race.  About Doctson finally showing something and Thompson getting back on the field and possibly Crowder.  About McCoy having an opportunity with the long week to maybe practice with the ones.  If Josh Norman needs a hug because fans boo at him, what's he gonna do when nobody's paying attention at all on the field?  How's that going to affect his play before Foster could even suit up?

 

He has no reason to clean up his act.  People acting like he deserves a second chance?  Come on.  This would be his, what, fifth?  Sixth?  He was warned specifically that if he did anything, then he was cut.  He said he wouldn't do anything.  And then he was arrested for the third time.

 

And the focus is on this and not the team that's all of a sudden teetering and needing to rally around the backup quarterback while going from a two-game lead in the division to a tie to potentially third all in four weeks.  This is the crap that we need?  He's not even going to play this year but he's already a detriment.

 

And people trying to bring Sean Taylor into this?  . . . you're not worth getting myself banned.

[Rufus T Firefly]

53 minutes ago, Jumbo said:

They turned me into a newt.

[Sticksboi05]

Foster is that friend of yours who is always the one who has his car searched at the wrong time, or had the principal check his locker at the worst occasion, or was caught when someone happened to be looking and angry etc. etc. The guy who always has "bad luck".

 

Hint: It's not luck.

[Wyvern]

The way I look at it, is that the Skins FO's decision to take a flyer on Foster is already done and in the books.  So maybe we just consider what are the impacts?

 

1.  The bad public relations  for the Skins and the media roasting the franchise FO for this decision --- Wow, is that anything new? ... Bad PR incidents??  The Skins haven't even hit their annual quota yet.

 

2.   Skins probably were surprised that Foster fell to them during the waiver process; they probably were right that a few other teams might try the same tactic of trying to obtain Foster's rights on the cheap.   I also suspect Skins were going in on this based on their earlier favorable impressions of Foster's raw talent during the draft evaluation days, something which convinced them it was worth trying to obtain his rights while things got more clear and hopefully sorted out. 

 

3.  Now, with Foster's rights in hand,  the Skins have more time to investigate and evaluate him (especially to see what happens to Foster's legal issues, to get a sense of what the NFL might do to him, see whether he's a basket case or could settle down under the right conditions, and whether he can play appropriately in Manusky's scheme, doesn't screw up team chemistry, etc., etc.). The downside?  They have to cover Foster's weekly/monthly salary while they wait for the legal and NFL drama to play out, and while they conduct their investigations/evaluations.  Skins FO probably isn't worried about this level of money spent to retain his rights while the rest of his issues play out.

 

4.  Interesting part of all this is that the Skins could cut Foster at any time and only be out his monthly salary they were paying him until he was cut.   And I really wouldn't be surprised if Foster's legal problems (or something new comes up  that the Skins won't tolerate) do bring him down, and the Skins wind up cutting him.  If that's the case, the Skins are only out the months of salary they paid him, and the "bad PR" (see results of impact #1)

 

Bottom Line:  This was a slick move for to gamble on acquiring a medium-to-high talent reward with little being risked .. except for the negative  PR impact.  They thought he was worth the cost of that gamble.   

 

Me?  I think it's unlikely Foster will successfully emerge from all his legal and NFL problems and consequently the Skins wind up releasing him at some point during the drama.  And even if Foster did happen to escape any serious legal or NFL punishment, I don't think h e is sufficiently disciplined to execute his role in Manusky's schemes, or emotionally intelligent, or physically durable to remain a reliable part of the Skins roster.

 

In the end, this will have been a slick move by the Skins FO, creating much ado about what turns out to be nothing.  IMHO, even if he makes it, Foster won't stick long enough to make it to his option year.  

[evmiii]

Other than the PR, what's the real downside to this claim?  If you wait for him to clear waivers he probably never gets to Washington.  If he is guilty the courts will handle it and he never wears the burgundy and gold.  If he's not then we get a a former first round potential talent linebacker.  The staff spent a lot of time with him last year, clearly they were very interested in him.  I certainly will never condone domestic violence, but until he gets convicted it's just an allegation.  I have personally seen a man protect himself from an attaking women and then get arrested for domestic violence.  It was all worked out and he was never formally charged, but it sure screwed his life up for a little while (security clearance suspended). I don't know what happened in this case, but I'm not jumping to conclusions.  It will all come out throughout the investigation.  I hope it goes away and he suits up, if not, what have they really lost.

[Scotty doesn't know]

2 hours ago, Morneblade said:

 

Oh, the one where he was swinging his belt because he had a mob after him? Sorry, that's not really an indictment on him, that's more just defending himself.

Wasn't aware of the full context, just remember people calling out Scotty after he said he only wanted good character players. Thanks for clarifying this.

[BraveWarrior]

There was a time, not very long ago, where the front office was saying how much character meant to them, and the emphasis was on bringing in high character guys who would lead by example. 

 

I guess that mindset has eased up a bit, as they get more desperate to find players who can actually play well. They see how well Kid Puncher is playing this year, and their moral high road isn't so high anymore.

 

My opinion now is, who cares? The league doesn't. They give lip service to placate the fans who don't want to see the bad apples in the NFL, but do nothing to actually prevent it because some of these guys can actually play really well. The Redskins don't care. They're spinning like crazy to justify all this. I don't like it, but if they have to scour the US penal system for guys who can win us a Superbowl, most of us will shrug our shoulders, tell our friends we are disappointed in our team, but then root for them come Sunday.

 

From a football standpoint, let's face it, this isn't the second coming of Ray Lewis here. He represents a marginal improvement over our current starting ILBs, but he's not great, and he's injury prone. This is us getting a guy that gave some of our talent evaluators boners a couple drafts ago, and now we can get him (ironically due to off field issues, which was a concern that probably contributed us to bypassing him in the draft).      

 

 

 

[Peregrine]

So, Doug Williams now called what Foster has alleged to have done as "small potatoes" in an interview today.

 

Yikes.  I guess Bruce Allen is even rubbing off on one.  Thats the first big foot-in-mouth Ive seen for him, and a hard one to convince people was just a mistake, and not that the Redskins FO views domestic assault as a light matter.

[bedlamVR]

5 hours ago, Jumbo said:

They turned me into a newt.

Did you get better ? 

[Darc Requiem]

2 hours ago, Peregrine said:

So, Doug Williams now called what Foster has alleged to have done as "small potatoes" in an interview today.

 

Yikes.  I guess Bruce Allen is even rubbing off on one.  Thats the first big foot-in-mouth Ive seen for him, and a hard one to convince people was just a mistake, and not that the Redskins FO views domestic assault as a light matter.

What are the details of the current incident? I know recanting allegations were pretty bad. Only thing i heard about the new situation is Foster breaking her phone. Whatever the truth of the situation. Whether he's guilty or not, his judgment is terrible. Either he's a woman beater or he's a guy that stupid enough to take a woman back that falsely accused him. The first is terrible and the latter means his awful decision making makes him a huge risk anyway.

[Poindexter]

1 hour ago, Peregrine said:

So, Doug Williams now called what Foster has alleged to have done as "small potatoes" in an interview today.

 

Yikes.  I guess Bruce Allen is even rubbing off on one.  Thats the first big foot-in-mouth Ive seen for him, and a hard one to convince people was just a mistake, and not that the Redskins FO views domestic assault as a light matter.

Obviously Doug must be ahead of the game on this.....this is probably going to end up being nothing.  I can't wait until all the dust settles on this.  

 

Ex-girlfriend is missing, Reuben is rumored to have bought her a plane ticket to Florida, he broke her phone, pushed her, she has a concussion,...who knows?  Chances are Reuben doesn't play this year and like most believe, he's considered as a 2019 Draft Prospect.

[profusion]

In the Age of Outrage, the Redskins acted foolishly from a PR perspective.

 

From a football perspective, this is the functional equivalent of signing a 7th round QB to be a "camp arm". Until Foster's cleared to play, he's football vaporware.

[RandyHolt]

Some may suggest, we can't lose, our PR is horrible already, or shrewd move....

I imagine there are some upcoming free agents out there, that may think twice about signing here. Or, maybe their wives will have a say, or maybe their agent.  Doug calling it small potatoes playing judge and jury, likely doesn't help. Maybe it does. Who knows, for as per usual, its all just food for thought.

[DJHJR86]

Let's hear it from "Tone Deaf" Doug Williams:
 

 

 

 

 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Doug really shouldn’t discuss this type of issue with Doc.  He gets way too loose with the lips.  Downplaying domestic violence because unnamed people have done worse.  Phew.

[RandyHolt]

The more I think about it the more I think players comments shouldn't be taken into consideration.  For it seems human nature that they wouldn't dis a former teammate, which is almost like a fraternity.  At least not until they have established a confidentiality trust with Doug, which now may well be lost for the foreseeable future.  Facepalm Park.

 

Or, if the former players were consulted, just make no mention of it.  Now, the players have to play hot potato and dodge reporters questions about who was asked about it.  Players forced to say 'no comment', its like a legal proceeding being forced upon the players. 

 

I wish we'd spend our these same efforts on getting a QB for the future, instead. Maybe that guy from Denver... I hear he is just a couch potato, sticking to the potato theme.