Jaguars’ Dante Fowler arrested on multiple charges
By John Buhler
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. was arrested in his hometown of St. Petersburg, Florida on multiples charges on Tuesday night.
For the Jacksonville Jaguars to right their sinking ship in 2017, they’ll need a big season out of key members of its defense like defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. After missing his rookie season in 2015 with a torn ACL, he managed 4.0 quarterback sacks and 23 tackles in 2016. On Tuesday night, he was arrested on multiple charges in his native St. Petersburg, Florida.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat writer Greg Auman for the Tampa Bay Times spelled out what went down on Tuesday night in a strange incident involving Fowler. He was reportedly arrested on charges of simple battery and mischief.
Essentially, Fowler got into an altercation with a man at a St. Petersburg apartment complex. Fowler “got out of [his] car, hit a man, knocked [his] glasses and stepped on them. To exacerbate things, Fowler allegedly threw the man’s bag of recently purchased liquor into a nearby lake.
Jaguars' Dante Fowler was arrested at 9:02 p.m. Tuesday in his hometown of St. Petersburg, released on $650 bond at 1 a.m. this morning ...
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Fowler's arrest came in argument in apartment complex -- police say Fowler got out of car, hit a man, knocked off glasses, stepped on them.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Police say man was walking in apartment complex, criticized Dante Fowler's driving. Fowler got out, exchanged words, then hit the man.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Police say Dante Fowler then took victim's grocery bag, with "recently purchased liquor," and threw it in a lake.
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Jaguars: "The Jaguars are aware of the situation involving defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. and are currently gathering more information ..."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
More Jaguars statement on Dante Fowler: "The team has been in communication with Dante. No further comment will be made at this time."
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) July 19, 2017
Jacksonville had used the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft to draft Fowler out of the University of Florida. The Jaguars took Fowler ahead of other prominent collegiate defensive ends like the USC Trojans’ Leonard Williams and the Clemson Tigers’ Vic Beasley. Williams went No. 6 to the New York Jets. Beasley went No. 8 to the Atlanta Falcons and led the NFL in sacks in 2016.
Overall, Jacksonville should have one of the better defenses in football. However, guys like Fowler need to step up for the Jaguars to get out of the AFC South cellar. This arrest is obviously not a good look for him or the Jaguars organization.
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He still perform on the field, but it wouldn’t be out of the question for Fowler to bust like so many Jaguars draft picks before him. In Todd Walsh’s first year as Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator, hearing about a former top draft tossing some guy’s bag of liquor into a lake and getting arrested is not great at all.