The San Francisco 49ers are easing linebacker Reuben Foster back into the system after he missed the start of the offseason program while dealing with a domestic violence case that was eventually dropped.

Foster was not allowed to participate in the offseason program until a judge ruled last week that he wouldn't have to stand trial on domestic violence charges. The judge determined there was no evidence that Foster ever hit his ex-girlfriend.

Foster rejoined the Niners last Thursday but has been held out of team drills as he gets back into form after missing more than five weeks of the offseason program while waiting for his case to be resolved.

He took part in individual drills during organized team activities but spent the time during team drills doing conditioning or watching teammates.

"Getting him up to speed won't take as long [url=http://www.49ersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kentavius-street-jersey]49ers Kentavius Street Jersey[/url] ," defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. "I can promise you that when he gets out there, he'll be like a fireball. It will be cool to see."

Foster had a trying offseason following an arrest in February on charges of beating up his girlfriend. He was charged in April with felony domestic violence, forcefully attempting to dissuade a witness and felony possession of an assault weapon.

That led to the decision by the 49ers to keep him away from the offseason program and general manager John Lynch said Foster would be cut if it was proven he hit his girlfriend.

But the case quickly fell apart. The accuser, Elissa Ennis, recanted her accusations two days after telling police she was hit in the head eight to 10 times by Foster. She testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this month that the injuries were caused by a fight with another woman and she gave prosecutors video of that fight. She said she lied initially because she wanted retribution after Foster tried to end their relationship.

Judge Nona Klippen said recantations aren't uncommon in domestic violence cases but said there was no supporting evidence in this case that Foster had attacked Ennis and dropped the domestic violence charges. Foster still faces a misdemeanor weapons charge for having a Sig Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle in his home that was legally registered in Alabama.

Foster also had a misdemeanor marijuana case dismissed in Alabama this month when he completed a pretrial diversion program.

"Reuben is in a good spot right now," 49ers defensive assistant Johnny Holland said. "He's been through a lot in the offseason. Going through court cases you never know what's going to happen. He still has a long road to go but he's excited to be back out here. He's family. We wanted to keep him encouraged while he was away and we welcomed him back."

The 49ers drafted Foster 31st overall last year after questions about his health and character caused him to drop from being a possible top 10 pick.

Foster delivered on the field, ranking second on the team with 72 tackles despite being limited to 10 games as a rookie because of injuries. He is being counted on now to be a key part of San Francisco's defensive future.

"For the 10 games he played in, I thought he was outstanding," Holland said. "His ceiling is very high. He's going to be better this year. We're excited to have him back and hopefully he can come back at full speed and his health is not a factor and he can be an outstanding football player."

They have a new quarterback and a new middle linebacker. They’ve released veterans, traded away one of the top cornerbacks in the league [url=http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/jeremy-kerley-jersey]Authentic Jeremy Kerley Jersey[/url] , signed wisely in free agency and loaded up on draft picks.

Sounds like a losing franchise trying to turn things around.

Try the two-time and defending AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The slew of offseason moves began even before free agency, when the Chiefs agreed to trades that sent quarterback Alex Smith to the Redskins and cornerback Marcus Peters to the Rams. But the pace of the dealing has hardly slowed down as the Chiefs remake an aging and expensive roster that was good enough to reach the playoffs last season but not good enough to beat Tennessee in the wild-card round.

That’s why they signed wide receiver Sammy Watkins, cornerback David Amerson and middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens, and landed cornerback Kendall Fuller in the trade with Washington.

”We’re not trying to win a Super Bowl four years from now. We’re going out there and we’re trying to win a Super Bowl next year,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. ”Whether that happens, I don’t know, but I know that we’re going to do everything we can to put our team in position to do so.”

Many teams coming off back-to-back division titles would try to hold on a little longer. And the result would be a slow regression that would ultimately force the team to begin a complete rebuilding job anyway.

Veach, who took over for John Dorsey last summer, took a refreshingly different tack. He went after the trade market, was decisive in his convictions and landed his biggest priorities [url=http://www.eaglescheapshops.com/cheap-authentic-richard-rodgers-jersey]Cheap Richard Rodgers Jersey[/url] , even if he may have had to pay a premium to get Watkins and Hitchens in the door.

It was a sign the candid, confident Veach is going to be a far different GM than his predecessors in Kansas City.

”If we have shortcomings,” Veach said, ”we’ll continue to work on those things. Our mindset is at every period to get our team in a position to win a Super Bowl. We have a lot of talent here. It’s a lot of young talent, which is exciting for the fans, but we realize there may be some growing pains. But we have some guys that can straight up play football, and that’s exciting.”

There is no doubt an abundance of talent, especially on offense.

Patrick Mahomes II is poised to take over for Smith under center, and he showed flashes of his big arm and gamesmanship in a Week 17 victory over Denver. To ease the transition, the Chiefs added Watkins to what is arguably the best set of skill-position players in the division [url=http://www.giantscheapstore.com/patrick-omameh-jersey-cheap]Patrick Omameh Jersey Giants[/url] , headlined by NFL rushing king Kareem Hunt, Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce and speedy wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

They also retained one of their own when they brought back bruising fullback Anthony Sherman.

”As a team, we’ve won a lot of games in the last few years,” Mahomes said, ”and we’re bringing a lot of those guys back. And with the additions that we have added, I feel like we can have a very, very good offense. It’s all going to start with how we prepare, especially at my position.”

Yes, the Chiefs expected to have a very good offense, just as they did last season. But one of the big challenges this offseason has been to fix a defense that ranked among the worst in the league.

Hitchens was a good first step [url=http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey]Authentic Marcell Ozuna Jersey[/url] , and he’ll step in to the void created by the release of the aging Derrick Johnson, the franchise’s career tackles leader. Amerson and Fuller will help to cover the trade of Peters, and the draft picks netted this offseason will almost certainly be used on defense.

Still, the question remains: Is that enough to make an appreciable improvement?

”We’ve got a great nucleus coming back. We’ve added some players that are top-notch,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said last week. ”We’re fired up about this whole thing. I’m not great at standing up and going, `Hey, here we go!’ But I’m ready to roll as we’re sitting here in March.”

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