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#Post#: 19--------------------------------------------------
Washington releases RB Derrius Guice shortly after arrest
DIR By: The Referee
Date: August 8, 2020, 12:23 pm
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The Washington Football Team released running back Derrius Guice
on Friday night, less than two hours after he was arrested on
domestic violence charges in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Washington wasted little time in releasing Guice, saying in a
statement that it had learned of a domestic violence-related
incident Thursday. The team alerted the NFL and met Friday with
Guice to let him know he was excused from all team activities.
The team's statement then read: "This afternoon we learned that
there were multiple charges filed against Derrius. Upon review
of the nature of these charges and following internal
discussions, we have decided to release Derrius immediately."
According to the Loudoun County Sheriff's office, the charges
stemmed from three separate domestic violence-related incidents
earlier this year -- on Feb. 14, March 13 and April 17 -- at
Guice's home in Ashburn, Virginia. The incidents were first
reported to the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland.
The sheriff's office was made aware of the allegations on July
22. It investigated the incidents in coordination with the
Montgomery County Police Department.
Guice, 23, was charged with one count of strangulation and three
counts of assault and battery. He also was charged with one
count of destruction of property. Guice turned himself in to the
Loudoun Adult Detention Center late Friday afternoon. Guice
later was released on a $10,000 uninsured bond.
In a statement made by his attorney, Guice refused to comment
and denied the charges.
"The failure to fully investigate allegations of events, which
allegedly took place months ago, is inexplicable," the statement
read. "Derrius will defend these charges in court, where a full
vetting of the allegations will take place, in contrast to
actions by local law enforcement and the Washington Football
Team that assumed the worst, directly contradicting every sense
of fairness and due process."
Before the 2018 NFL draft, there were anonymous reports
questioning Guice's character. Many who knew him, from high
school to college coaches, said those fears were misplaced.
Although some teams took him off the board, whether for injury
or character concerns, Washington drafted the LSU product in the
second round.
According to multiple sources Carolina had removed Guice from
it's draft board prior to the 2018 draft over concerns about his
knees and his character. Washington's staff is populated by
multiple people who were with Carolina at the time including
coach Ron Rivera, head athletic trainer Ryan Vermillion And
director of pro scouting Eric Stokes.
During his two seasons with Washington, questions arose about
his maturity level, according to numerous sources over this
time. Most of those concerns, though, stemmed from his approach
to various team situations such as medical treatment.
As a rookie, Guice was one of the camp standouts until he tore
his left ACL in the first preseason game. Coaches valued his
ability to help on all three downs because he could not only
catch the ball but help in pass protection.
Guice opened the 2019 season as the starting running back, but
he tore the meniscus in his right knee and missed eight games.
He then tore his medial collateral ligament in a Dec. 8 loss at
Green Bay and did not play again. He never touched the ball more
than 10 times in a game, but he did average 5.83 yards on 42
carries.
This offseason, Washington made sure to add depth at running
back. The team still has Adrian Peterson, but it also signed
third-down back J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber, an early-down
back. Washington drafted Antonio Gibson, who will also align at
wide receiver in certain formations. Bryce Love, whom the team
drafted in the fourth round in 2019, was cleared to practice
this summer and, if he's back to where he was at Stanford, would
provide the same sort of pop the team had hoped to get from
Guice.
Washington's NFL franchise came under fire last month when The
Washington Post detailed sexual harassment allegations against
five former employees. New coach Ron Rivera was tasked with
improving the culture in Washington, making Guice's release a
necessary move.
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