New York Jets receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested on a drunken driving charge in New York early Tuesday morning.The Jets expressed their disappointment in the receiver in a statement from general manager Mike Tannenbaum on Tuesday.
"We are very disappointed in Braylon's actions this morning. The Player Protect program is in place for our organization to prevent this situation. Braylon is aware of this program and showed poor judgment," Tannenbaum said.
"We are reviewing the information with the league and will impose the appropriate disciplinary measures."
The 27-year-old Edwards was pulled over for having overly tinted windows in his Range Rover. He was arrested at 5:15 a.m. after police smelled alcohol and administered a breathalyzer. According to the New York Post, Edwards blew .16 on the breathalyzer -- a blood-alcohol content that is twice the legal limit.
Edwards, who caught a touchdown pass and two-point conversion on Sunday in the Jets' victory over the New England Patriots, is currently in police custody and will be arraigned later Tuesday, the newspaper reported.
Edwards was required to make that plea in person, and it took him away from the Jets for a day as they prepared for a playoff game last Jan. 12. At the time, the Jets feared he would be slapped with a one-game suspension from the NFL, but they learned in late June that there would be no sanction from the league.
According to a league spokesman, DUIs are reviewed under the NFL's substance-abuse policy. There is no automatic suspension under any circumstances. The league isn't commenting on a possible outcome or specifics.
The first substance-abuse offense is not subject to suspension for a player, only a fine, which is half of a game check with a maximum of $50,000. It is not known if Edwards ever had a violation under the substance-abuse policy (the program is confidential) and if he would be subject to a suspension for a second offense.
The assault charge that Edwards previously had while in Cleveland is covered under the NFL's personal conduct policy and the two can't be used together against a player.
Edwards' big game Sunday was overshadowed by a taunting penalty he received after his touchdown.
On Monday, Edwards was chastised by coach Rex Ryan -- publicly and privately. In a team meeting, Ryan announced that he was prepared to give Edwards a game ball for his performance, but he decided against it because of the penalty.
"I love the way he played -- he was really into it -- but you're killing us," Ryan told reporters. "You can't put the team in that kind of jeopardy. I appreciate how passionate he is, but you don't want to be selfish. That's basically what that is."
This could be Edwards' final season with the Jets. In the offseason, he signed a one-year tender for $6.05 million, and he's due to become an unrestricted free agent in 2011.
The Jets were heavily criticized in the offseason for acquiring players with off-the-field issues. They traded for wide receiver Santonio Holmes even though he was facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. He has served two games.
Also, they traded for cornerback Antonio Cromartie, whose tenure with the San Diego Chargers was tainted by paternity issues. At the time of the trade, in March, Cromartie had fathered seven children from six different women and was late on $25,000 in child-support payments. To help Cromartie, the Jets fronted him $500,000 of his $1.1 million salary.
Let's be realistic here, folks. How stupid can he get? He knows that he's on thin ice after the Jets acquired him, amid the allegations of punching James' friend last year. If he didn't drop the ball so much this might not be an issue, but now that he's got other things on his mind than football, this could be disastrous for the Jets because they need everything part of Edwards' brain focused on catching the football. Hopefully for Jets he doesn't get suspended for this Sunday night's game in Miami. What will Goodell do?
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