Buccaneers’ tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins arrested for DUI
Austin Seferian Jenkins has underachieved to this point in his career, and after a turbulent offseason he’s now been arrested for DUI.
Tampa Buccaneers tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins has just three catches for 44 yards through two games this season, as the backup to Cameron Brate. Heading into the team’s home opener Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, Seferian-Jenkins has now added an off-field incident to his lackluster performance.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the third-year tight end was arrested and charged with DUI early Friday morning. Seferian-Jenkins was reportedly stopped by Florida Highway Patrol at 3:42 a.m. and booked at the Orient Road Jail at 6:24 a.m.
As of 10 a.m. local time, via Greg Auman of the Times, Seferian Jenkins remained jailed on $750 bond with charges of misdemeanor driving under the influence and violating a court-ordered Ignition Interlock Device Restriction. Seferian-Jenkins was also arrested in 2013 for DUI, in Washington state during his days at the University of Washington.
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Seferian-Jenkins made news this offseason when Buccaneers’ head coach Dirk Koetter kicked him out of an offseason practice for apparently “not knowing what he’s doing.” Seferian-Jenkins was also spotted yelling at Koetter during Tampa Bay’s final preseason game, during which he fairly surprisingly saw extended action.
Seferian Jenkins’ availability for Sunday’s game is obviously in doubt, and he’s surely facing some sort of discipline from the NFL. The league’s substance-abuse policy calls for a possible two-game suspension, and being a second-time offender could bring a longer suspension. It’s worth wondering if the Buccaneers will simply cut ties with Seferian-Jenkins now, with his summer time drama evolving into an arrest and a bigger distraction.
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The Buccaneers are already likely to be down a tight end against the Rams, after Luke Stocker (ankle) was injured last week. With the prospect of little available depth chart behind Brate, one or both of rookies Alan Cross and Dan Vitale could be promoted from the practice squad for Sunday’s game.