SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers do not owe Reuben Foster another penny.
Foster is now with Washington, the club that claimed him off waivers and will be paying him a weekly salary of $51,470 as he remains unable to practice or play while on the Commissioner Exempt list.
The only thing the 49ers owed after the decision to release Foster on Sunday morning was an explanation – to his former teammates.
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The 49ers secured the second and third floors of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. Foster’s on-again/off-again girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, called 911 from Room 627 to report a domestic incident. Foster was arrested at the team hotel and spent the night in jail before getting released on $2,000 bail.
Ennis also accused Foster of violence after a February incident in Los Gatos. She later recanted her accusations under oath at the preliminary hearing, and the criminal case against Foster was dismissed.
Coach Kyle Shanahan took a straight-forward approach on Sunday in the 49ers’ locker room before the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He gathered the team to briefly explain the reason Foster was no longer on the team.
And he followed up in a team meeting on Monday in Santa Clara.
San Francisco 49ers
“I gave them more information,” Shanahan said on 49ers Game Plan, which airs Saturday on NBC Bay Area (Ch. 3) at 7 p.m. “I explained my reasons why I wanted to do it, why (general manager) John (Lynch) wanted to do it, why we came to this conclusion.”
Shanahan told the team what guidelines had been put into place for Foster, and what he did to prompt the organization to make the decision to part ways with him.
“I told the team we felt very good about that, and wanted to get it all out there,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan asked the entire team if there were any questions. Nobody raised a hand. Then, Shanahan urged anyone who felt uncomfortable speaking in front of everyone to come to his office for a private conversation.
“No one did,” Shanahan said. “I think it was pretty clear. Everyone understood. Reuben is well-liked in our locker room, and people did feel bad that this happened and bad that it didn’t work out. But I think our team completely understood our position and understood why we did it.”
Shanahan said he does not sense the turmoil continues to linger over the team this week, as the 49ers shift focus to facing the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.
“I felt very good about it. There hasn’t been a distraction at all,” Shanahan said. “It’s always tough when guys have to answer questions about it. But I think we cleared most of it up on Monday. We were very up front about what happened, and now he’s on another team. Hopefully, that’ll work out for him.
“Reuben is a good player. Guys don’t like losing good players, especially one that’s liked. But our team does understand why it happened and why we had to do it. When the guys do understand, you move on.”