In the wake of the Minnesota Vikings' messy handling of the Adrian Peterson situation, the Arizona Cardinals are moving quickly and deliberately to distance themselves from Jonathan Dwyer. The running back was arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting his wife and young son, and was promptly deactivated by the team.
Cardinals coach distances himself from Jonathan Dwyer
Bruce Arians had stern words against domestic abusers following Dwyer’s arrest and deactivation.
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Head coach Bruce Arians had stern words for Dwyer’s alleged actions on Thursday.
“If someone touches a woman or a child, in my opinion, they need to go to jail for a long, long time,” Arians said in an afternoon press conference, according to Tyler Lockman of FoxSportsArizona.com.
Arians said he was “floored” by Dwyer’s arrest and added that the running back would not return to the Cardinals unless cleared of wrongdoing by the legal system, per Craig Grialou of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
The second-year head coach also said the release of Chris Rainey from the Cardinals' practice squad was for football reasons. It had been speculated that the running back had been dropped because of his history of domestic violence.
Rainey was waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2013 after he was accused of slapping his girlfriend. Just last week, Arians told AZCentral.com he consulted with Dwyer, who spent the last four years with the Steelers, before signing Rainey.
"Larry Foote stood up on the table for the guy, as did Jonathan Dwyer," Arians said. "I put a lot of stock in that.
“We did our due diligence. I know everybody in Pittsburgh and everybody in Indianapolis, two teams he’s been (with).”
Dwyer’s arrest stems from two separate incidents in late July. Police allege the 25-year-old broke his wife’s nose by headbutting her, then punched her in the face the following day. Police also say he sent suicidal text messages to his wife, punched holes in the wall and threw a shoe at his 17-month-old son, who was uninjured.
The Cardinals have placed Dwyer on the Non-Football Injury list and are evaluating his mental state, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
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