The worst part of the NFL offseason finally is over.
That dull period in late June and July after players finish organized team activities and minicamp but before training camp starts often is when players get themselves into trouble. This offseason — with incidents ranging from fireworks accidents to 143-mph street races — was no exception.
With the worst of players’ run-ins with the law (hopefully) over, reporter Mike Rosenberg decided to tally up the “stats,” using data from USA TODAY and the San Diego Union-Tribune to break down the total number of player arrests on each NFL team over the last five years.
The result: 260 arrests in 260 weeks, with the Minnesota Vikings leading the way at 18 arrests since August 2010.
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The New England Patriots make out (relatively) OK on this list, with just five arrests in the last five years. As Rosenberg points out, that’s as many as two former San Francisco 49ers players had by themselves.
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These numbers, of course, seem high, but it’s worth noting an “arrest” just means a player was taken in by police, not necessarily that he was convicted and sentenced. Rosenberg also dispelled any rumors that the number of player arrests some how correlates to a team’s win-loss record.
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Hopefully these numbers will stay the same as we approach the NFL regular season and focus on actually playing football.
Thumbnail photo via Andrew Weber/USA TODAY Sports Images
