After being arrested for driving under the influence in Florida, defensive end Lonnie Phelps is without a team as the Cleveland Browns released him.
According to NFL.com, the NFL team announced that it waived Phelps but made no mention of his arrest in its press release.
Phelps was charged with DUI and damaging property when he was detained and arrested on June 19. Police officials said he drove into an outdoor lounge area at Red Shoe Island Bistro in Key West. He refused to take a breath test and reportedly refused to cooperate with police officers on the scene.
NBC News reported that the 23-year-old football player was with his 21-year-old girlfriend when officers arrived on the scene.
In the police report, police said Phelps was slurring his words and had a strong odor of alcohol emitting from his mouth, bloodshot eyes, and droopy eyelids.
Phelps appeared to be “very agitated,” the report states, and “kept throwing his hands in the air and rushing us to ‘do what we have to do.'”
The former Browns player was arrested and booked at the Monroe County Detention Center on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence and causing property damage.
Red Shoe Island posted a statement on its Facebook page letting patrons know that no one was hurt and “Thankfully, we were closed” when the accident occurred.
The 23-year-old Phelps played his collegiate career at Miami (Ohio) before playing at Kansas. The Cleveland Browns stated that he was an undrafted free agent
when he joined the team in May 2023 and spent the season on the practice squad. He was then signed to a reserve/future contract in January 2024.Phelps is scheduled to appear in court on July 2.
RELATED CONTENT: Cleveland Browns Players Robbed At Gunpoint After Leaving Nightclub