NFL teams have a sliding scale of justice.
If a fourth receiver was arrested six times in two years, well, he wouldn’t still be on the team by the time a sixth arrest. If he has potential to be one of the best receivers in the league, teams will let things slide if the arrests are relatively minor.
Kenny Britt is that talented. NFL Network’s Albert Breer reports that the Titans plan to retain Britt, but they are expected to “come down hard” on him when the lockout ends. It’s possible the team could suspend him before the league takes action.
This could be a telling early moment of the Mike Munchak era. Publicly, he isn’t saying much about Britt yet. Privately he may plan to depart some from the Jeff Fisher’s track record of handling discipline.
Perhaps the most telling and surprisig statement in Breer’s article regarded Britt’s stature on the team.
“The Titans view Britt as the second best player, behind Chris Johnson, on their entire roster, and aren’t ready to give up on him yet,” Breer writes. “The club considers him a potential top-five type of receiver, but also recognizes the obvious -- that Britt simply hasn’t grown up and out of the reputation he had as an immature kid coming out of Rutgers.”
Britt undoubtedly has the talent to dominate. But that ranking puts him ahead of tackle Michael Roos and cornerback Cortland Finnegan, who have both been first team All Pros.
That is the kind of talent that could allow Britt to reach double digits in arrests before he runs out of chances.