Washington Redskins linebacker Reuben Foster has agreed to remain on the commissioner's exempt list and not appeal the league's decision until his pending legal matter is resolved, a league source told ESPN.

Foster, 24, likely will be sidelined for the remainder of the season after he was arrested last weekend on a charge of domestic violence.

Foster's decision to not appeal his placement on the exempt list neither disappoints nor surprises the Redskins, who on Tuesday claimed the 2017 first-round draft pick with the sole idea that he could be a linchpin on their defense next season rather than this season, a source said.

In the short time that word emerged that a team had claimed Foster -- before the Redskins were revealed as that team -- several other teams distanced themselves from the idea that they were the one that claimed him.

One NFL coach, when asked by ESPN whether his team was the one that claimed Foster, texted back, "lol." Another GM, when asked whether his team had made the claim, texted back, "No way!!!!"

Washington, the only team to claim Foster, spent the past week trying to justify the decision. In a radio interview Thursday, Redskins executive Doug Williams called Foster's domestic violence arrest "small potatoes" when compared to crimes committed by people in positions of power.

"We've got people who are in high, high, high, high places that have done far worse, and if you look at it realistically, they're still up there," Williams said. "This is small potatoes [compared to] a lot of things out there."

Williams apologized for those comments the following day.