Reuben Foster is not eligible for the commissioner’s exempt list at this point, Jim Trotter of ESPN.com tweets, so the embattled linebacker would be able to be in attendance on the first day of the 49ers‘ offseason program come Monday. Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area expects Foster to be there (Twitter link), despite circumstances that could well have Foster bound for an ignominious departure after a standout rookie season. Foster will become eligible for the commissioner’s exempt list once the league concludes its investigation into his alleged act of domestic violence — an incident that prompted authorities to charge the 2017 first-round pick with three felonies. Foster could face up to 11 years in prison. Conversely, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) would be surprised if Foster is with his teammates at 49ers headquarters next week, noting he will probably “stay away for a little bit.” Rapoport said he expects the 49ers to quickly waive Foster if, in fact, they learn the 24-year-old defender committed these crimes.
Here’s the latest from some other West-division cities.
- Khalil Mack has not shown up for the first week of Jon Gruden‘s return to the Raiders, but Reggie McKenzie remains confident a contract agreement will come. “This is going to be a big contract and all sides are trying to make everything work,” McKenzie told NFL.com’s Steve Wyche (via NBC Sports Bay Area’s Scott Bair). “It’s about the end result. One thing I know is that we love Khalil Mack and we want to make him a Raider for life. We’ll get through all the other stuff. We understand the business part of it. Everybody is aware of everything and nobody is surprised. Everything, on all sides has been positive.” Wyche reports Mack and Gruden have spoken recently, despite the superstar defensive end’s absence, and McKenzie understands Mack may stay away from the team until a deal is completed.
- Vita Vea is eligible to attend both the Seahawks‘ and 49ers’ local pro days, which do not count against teams’ top-30 visits, but he will instead meet with the Redskins next Wednesday, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee tweets. The mammoth ex-Washington Huskies defensive tackle went to high school in the Bay Area. He’s visited several teams and is a surefire first-round pick.
- Cardinals linebacker Josh Bynes received $1.25MM in guaranteed money via his latest deal with the team, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic notes. Despite a new coaching staff coming in and the Cards set to turn to a 4-3 setup, Bynes signed to stay in Arizona on a three-year deal. The base value of that contract is $5.575MM, per OverTheCap, but it could max out at close to $10MM. Bynes started 19 games for the Lions between the 2015 and ’16 seasons and was a Cardinals starter in just one 2017 contest. But Steve Wilks sees the 28-year-old former UDFA as a viable candidate to start at middle linebacker.