Again…Really Braylon?

Braylon Edwards was arrested Monday evening on charges of DWI in Manhattan.  This was just a day after an impressive 28-14 win against division rival New England, where Edwards caught 5 receptions and scored a TD.  After his TD, his celebration was the Doug E. Fresh head rub popularized by the movie Paid in Full.  Braylon was arrested at 5A.M. Tuesday morning and was originally pulled over for suspicion of tint violation.

He earlier in the evening was leaving from a charity benefit hosted by teammate Jericho Cothchery that ended at 9:30.  Cothchery, a fellow Jets receiver said that Edwards looked fine as he left the event.  At the time of the arrest there were four other passengers inside Braylon’s SUV.  Among them were Jets tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and defensive end Vernon Gholston.

Why didn’t someone who wouldn’t blow a .16 (twice the legal limit) drive? There is also a league sponsored chaufer service called Player Protect.  It is absolutely free to players and comes with an armed driver and DVD player.

You may remember that as a Brown, Braylon Edwards had an incident outside a Cleveland nightclub where he allegedly punched a man leading to a disorderly conduct conviction.  It landed him on probation and warranted league attention, but did not get him suspended.  The victim in that case was a friend of then Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James.  These events and Braylon’s high drop total led to him being traded to the Jets part way through last season.

Edwards was arraigned and released  on Tuesday.  On his way out of court with scruffy beard and black T-shirt, Braylon said “There will be plenty of time to talk.  I will address everybody.”  Some teammates have showh their verbal support for Edwards like quarterback Mark Sanchez, saying the team is like a family.  Other players that have remained annonymous are labeling his actions as selfish.  General Manager Mike Tannenbaum said that Braylon will play, but not start against the Dolphins.

With receiver Santonio Holmes three games into a four game substance abuse league mandated suspension, the team definitely needs Braylon’s production right now.  You have to assume in-lieu of conviction that Edwards will face a suspension himself stemming from this incident.  It seems the only thing that will keep Braylon from being a dominant receiver, like he was a the University of Michigan, is himself.