TUESDAY, 4:21pm: The Patriots have formally released Ball, following his arrest, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Ball had been re-signed by New England on February 1, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link), so he didn’t last long on his new reserve/futures contract.
MONDAY, 5:56pm: Prosecutors charged Ball with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, according to Ed Treleven of Madison.com, and the former second-round pick will not face a felony charge.
But Ball, who was released from jail earlier today, also faces a misdemeanor battery charge, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County (Wis.) Circuit Court, for striking the woman on the face five days before this incident occurred.
The battery charge carries a nine-month maximum jail term, per Treleven, with the disorderly conduct charge carrying a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail.
FRIDAY, 2:07pm: Former Broncos running back Montee Ball was arrested by police in Madison, Wisconsin early Friday morning after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend into a table at a hotel, according to Bill Novak of Madison.com. Novak writes that Ball was taken to the Dane County jail on a “tentative charge” of substantial battery.
“The woman told police she had a dispute with her boyfriend,” a police source told Novak. “She said he put his hands on her, picked her up and threw her.” The source added that Ball was “very cooperative” with police.
Ball, 25, had a solid rookie season for the Broncos in 2013 after being selected in the second round of the draft, running for 559 yards and four touchdowns. However, he took a step backward in 2014, and was waived by Denver prior to the 2015 regular season.
After working out for a handful of teams, Ball eventually signed in December with the Patriots’ practice squad to help provide depth for a New England team dealing with multiple backfield injuries. Even then though, Ball wasn’t promoted to the Pats’ active roster and wasn’t believed to be in great shape — Ed Werder of ESPN.com noted that the running back weighed about 205 pounds when he was drafted by the Broncos, and was in the 230s as a Patriot.
With Ball’s on-field potential seemingly on the decline, his off-field legal run-in figures to further decrease his odds of finding a spot on an active roster for 2016. Whether or not Ball is ultimately prosecuted for this incident, the NFL will conduct its own investigation, and could decide to suspend the running back for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
But Not Manziel!!!
Yikes sat in jail all weekend? Probably couldn’t even watch his former team win it all
A tough fall for a player who had some quality opportunities. Running backs who sputter in those don’t get many luxuries of recovering from something like this.