Jets' Braylon Edwards arrested on DWI charge
Braylon Edwards of the New York Jets sits on the bench during a preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. (Sept. 2, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested on a drunken-driving charge early Tuesday morning, the New York Police Department said.
Edwards was pulled over on the west side of Manhattan for having overly-tinted windows on his car. Officers said they then detected alcohol on Edwards' breath, and gave him a Breathalyzer test. The wide receiver blew a .16, twice the legal limit.
The Jets released a statement Tuesday morning regarding the arrest: "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. We are reviewing the information with the league and will impose the appropriate disciplinary measures."
Edwards will be arraigned later Tuesday.
Edwards' arrest comes barely a day after Rex Ryan revealed he was going to award a game ball to him after Sunday's big 28-14 win against the Patriots. But Ryan was disappointed Edwards received a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for taunting after his 10-yard second quarter touchdown.
Edwards stood in cornerback Darius Butler's face and did "The Dougie" dance and was flagged for taunting. He did it again when he grabbed a two-point conversion over Butler to put the Jets ahead 21-14 late in the third quarter. However, he wasn't penalized that time.
"I love the way he played," Ryan said Monday. "He was really into it, but you’re killing us. You can’t put the team in that kind of jeopardy. You’re kicking off from the 15 [yard line] and that’s two weeks in a row we’ve had to do that, not from Braylon both those game, just this past game.
"We’re kicking off from the 15, so that really put our defense in a bad situation. I appreciate how passionate he is, but you don’t want to be selfish. That’s basically what that is."
"As great as he played, and no one is as big a Braylon fan as I am, that’s something I probably should have addressed right when it happened. I was too worried about trying to get them stopped, but that’s needed to be addressed and we did address it."
Ryan went even further.
"He's smarter than that," Ryan said. "He knows better than that. It's not the first time he's ever been in the end zone, either. He knows."
