Foster, a first-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, is widely seen as a player with the potential to be one of the best inside linebackers in the league, but the 49ers cut him in November after he was arrested on misdemeanor domestic assault charges for allegedly hitting his girlfriend at the team hotel before a game in Tampa. It was his second domestic violence arrest of the year. (An earlier charge following an incident in California was dropped.) The NFL suspended him for the first two games of last season for violations of its personal conduct policy, in part for the California arrest and a related weapons charge.

Washington claimed Foster two days after his release. He was given a locker at the team’s facility and has worked out with other players, with the team’s decision-makers hoping he might add speed and power to the middle of the defense should he resolve his legal issues. Florida prosecutors dropped the Tampa charges in January, and not long after Allen expressed confidence that Foster would not be disciplined by the league.

When asked Friday how much Redskins coaches and executives consider Foster’s availability when making offseason plans at linebacker, Allen nodded and said, “Oh, we consider him strongly.”