ASHBURN — Jay Gruden spent the majority of his press conference Wednesday facing questions about the Washington Redskins’ decision to claim linebacker Reuben Foster off waivers days after his second domestic violence arrest of the year.
While staying light on details, the coach echoed a statement by vice president of player personnel Doug Williams by saying there was “no guarantee he’ll ever step foot on a football field” again.
Foster arrived at the Redskins’ practice facility Tuesday, where Gruden said he met Foster in person for the first time since the 2017 scouting combine. He was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Tuesday, meaning he cannot play or practice with the Redskins. Foster completed his physical for the team Tuesday.
Washington was the only team to put in a claim for Foster, who had to go through the waiver system when he was cut. Gruden was asked why the team didn’t wait for Foster to clear waivers.
“That’s a good question. We probably could have done that,” he said. “But we saw an opportunity there to claim him and we chose to do that as an organization.”
Foster was one of Gruden’s favorite defensive players in the 2017 NFL Draft and said he liked the linebacker’s interview with the team.
The Redskins did not reach out to Foster’s alleged victim during their investigation, Gruden said.
The coach also said more than once that neither the Foster signing nor the public backlash that ensued will be a distraction for the team.
“At the end of the day, we decided to make a move and deal with the outcry, so to speak,” Gruden said.
He emphasized that Foster was “young” and has gotten himself into trouble with “a mistake or two.”
“We’ll get to the bottom of it at the end of the day, and like I said, there’s no guarantee he’s ever gonna step foot on a football field here,” Gruden said. “We would like to find out and know about what happened.”
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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