5:27pm: While they haven’t made a final decision yet, the Bills will likely keep Kromer on their staff, suspending him without pay to start the season, according to Vic Carucci of The Buffalo News (via Twitter).
4:57pm: The charges against Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer – and his son Zachary Kramer – have been dropped, assistant Florida state attorney Bobby Elmore tells Mike Rodak of ESPN.com (Twitter links). According to Rodak, the two sides reached an agreement, with the charges dropped at the request of the accusers’ parents.
Kromer, who was the Bears’ offensive coordinator in 2014, was arrested earlier this month on a misdemeanor battery charge. According to the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Kromer and his son allegedly confronted a group of three boys – who had been fishing – over the use of beach chairs. The victims told Walton County deputies that Kromer grabbed their fishing pole and threw it in the water, then pushed one of the boys to the ground and punched him in the face. The victim, a juvenile, also said Kromer threatened to kill his family if he reported the incident to the police.
The Bills placed Kromer on paid administrative leave while they looked into the incident, so the team will likely make a call on his status soon. With the legal situation now resolved, Buffalo may decide to bring Kromer back into the fold, though the settlement doesn’t necessarily mean the veteran coach was innocent — it just means the accusers were willing to drop the charges.