San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster has been on the practice field daily since the NFL team opened training camp last week. Just 10 weeks ago, the former Alabama standout wasn't sure when -- or if -- he'd play football again.

On Feb. 11, Foster was arrested in Los Gatos, California, and charged with felony domestic violence, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime and possession of an assault weapon. A judge dismissed two of those charges after the "victim" testified she made up her allegations against Foster and reduced the weapons charge from a felony to a misdemeanor on May 23.

Until then, Foster's future in football was up in the air.

"It made me appreciate football a lot better," Foster said on Saturday in his first public comments since being arrested. "It was crazy knowing that football can be gone. But just being back on this field with my brothers and these coaches is a blessing."

Foster also was arrested in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 12 and charged with second-degree possession of marijuana.

Foster said he thought the off-the-field incidents, if they didn't ruin his NFL career, might at least spell the end of this time with the 49ers, "but they stood by me, as a family should."

But Foster also said San Francisco general manager John Lynch had made it clear to him that he'd used up about all the 49ers' patience.

"That's the message that came through," Foster said. "And I respect it."

The marijuana charge was dismissed in May after Foster participated in a pretrial diversion program. On June 6, Foster pleaded no contest in Santa Clara County Superior Court to unlawful possession of an assault weapon and was sentenced to community service and two years of probation.

Asked on Saturday if he thought he had done anything wrong during the incident in Los Gatos, Foster said: "I respect your question, but I don't feel like talking about it. I really don't. Right or wrong or whatever, people criticized me and thought I was wrong. But I'm not going to fuel that no more."

Foster called the offseason turmoil "a big learning experience."

"I learned that every day I've got to go harder at everything I do to better myself even more," Foster said. "It's like do or die. Just don't mess up. ... It's like trying to craft my football -- I've got to craft my life and go hard at it."

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he thought Foster had come through the situation about as well as could be expected.

"I think Reuben has done a great job just handling it," Shanahan said last week. "What they originally charged him with is as bad of a thing as you can imagine. It's a very embarrassing thing because of how bad it was. To have all that scrutiny on you and to have to go through that, I think, would be a challenge for any human being. That would mess a lot of people up.

"I've been very impressed with Reuben in how he handled it, the process he went through while it was going on and after it got dropped, and how he's handled himself since."

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Although Foster's legal issues were resolved, the NFL suspended him for the first two games of the 2018 regular season for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy and its Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse.

"It's painful," Foster said. "It's football. It's something I do, and something I love. But it is what it is. You accept the consequences, you take it and move on. You learn from it, too, and you grow from it."

Foster still will be able to participate in the 49ers' preseason games, but he will miss San Francisco's regular-season contests against the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Foster will be eligible to return to practice on Sept. 17 after sitting out two weeks.

The 49ers kick off their four-game preseason schedule on Aug. 9 against the Dallas Cowboys.

Foster was Alabama's Class 6A Lineman of the Year for the 2012 season at Auburn High School. He won the Butkus Award as the nation's best collegiate linebacker in 2016 at Alabama.

Foster made the Pro Football Writers Association's All-Rookie team for the 2017 season after the 49ers traded up to select him with the 31st pick in last year's draft.

Foster missed six of San Francisco's first eight games during his rookie season because of the injuries. But in the second half of the season, Foster was on the field for every game, and San Francisco, which started the season 0-8, went 6-2. Despite his missed time, Foster finished second on the team in tackles.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @AMarkG1.