In what seems to be an off-season full of incidents, another arrest of an NFL player is making the news. Jacksonville Jaguars Dante Fowler was arrested Tuesday night on charges of simple battery and criminal mischief.
Dante Fowler arrested for simple battery, criminal mischief https://t.co/C8JTB6dkvJ
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 19, 2017
Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive End Dante Fowler Arrested Tuesday Night
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, the 22-year-old Fowler was arrested for the two misdemeanor charges at 9:02 PM. The report states, per the Tampa Bay Times, that Fowler got into a verbal confrontation with a man who made a comment about his driving. He then struck him and proceeded to stomp on his prescription glasses. The victim had a grocery bag with recently purchased liquor inside which Fowler took and threw into a lake as well.
After making a $650 bail, Fowler was released from police custody at 1:43 AM this morning. This isn’t the first time Fowler has found himself in the media under scrutiny. In 2016, a video emerged of Fowler “refereeing” the mother of his child while she fought another woman.
This isn’t Fowler’s first arrest on a misdemeanor either. In 2016, Fowler was arrested for assault and resisting arrest. Charges were later dropped after he entered a pretrial intervention program. It still won’t help his case with commissioner Roger Goodell when the time comes to deal with this latest transgression.
The Jaguars are aware of the situation but aren’t making any comments until they have gathered all of the information. This arrest comes exactly one week before Fowler, and his teammates, are scheduled to report for training camp.
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) July 19, 2017
What to Expect in 2017
The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Fowler with the third overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. On the first day of the team’s rookie mini-camp, however, Fowler tore his ACL and ended up missing his entire rookie season.
In 2016, Fowler was able to make his long-awaited return and contribute to the Jaguars defense. He finished the season with 32 tackles, four sacks, and five pass deflections. 2017 was looking to be Dante Fowler’s breakout season and with veteran Calais Campbell added to the defensive front, Jacksonville’s defensive line looked poised for greatness.
Once all the information is gathered, the NFL will decide how to handle this situation. Goodell is well known for handing out suspensions and with this not being his first occurence, Fowler will likely miss two to four games this season.
