APShortly after undrafted rookie linebacker Brandon Joiner signed with the Bengals in May, he was sentenced to three years in prison as a result of his involvement in a 2007 robbery when he was enrolled at Texas A&M.
At the time, Joiner’s attorney said that he thought his client would be out on parole in six to nine months if he behaved himself. That’s turned out to be the case as Joiner was paroled this week, leaving him free to resume his football career.
“I spent all that time in there just thinking, away from family, just the little time you get. Right now, being outside, it’s amazing. It’s not even cold to me really,” Joiner said, via the Killeen Daily Herald.
The Bengals said in May that they would be retaining his rights so it would stand to reason that he’ll be on their 90-man roster and take part in the team’s offseason program. Joiner was the 2011 Sun Belt defensive player of the year at Arkansas State, where he went after leaving Texas A&M in the wake of his arrest, and the Bengals obviously feel strong enough about his talent to stick with him through eight months in jail.
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Maybe the Bengals paid him more to recruit guys in prison than he would have earned under his rookie deal?
C’Mon Cincy, it not as much fun if you hand us the jokes gift wrapped..
Take note, the Bengals haven’t used a substantial draft pick on a character problem player in a long while.
If they take chances on a guy it’s on UDFAs. Remember, they picked up Burfict, got his head on right and he had 174 tackles this year.
Definitely doesn’t look like they are the butt of that joke.
Shocking, another player in trouble with the law on the Bengals! In all seriousness, does anyone know who this guy is? Was he good in college? I am interested to see what they saw in him to hold onto his rights in hope he could play next season.
Serving one sixth of his sentence sounds about right for the American catch and release program with revolving door prisons.
Is it any wonder we have such rampant lawlessness in this country?
Sentenced to 3 years, serves less than a 1/3 of his sentence…
Maybe if they started to actually punish criminals, some of the idiocy in this country would stop.
He did the crime and did the time. Best of luck to you young man. I hope you learned from your mistake.
Another day, another felon joins the Bengals. Ho hum.
Ah ha ha! Out of prison and straight to the Bungals.
If you somehow don’t know by now, Mike Brown, who owns this sorry excuse for a franchise, hires convicts because they play for less.
What a joke.
Another dude that will have a chip on his shoulder, as did Burfict, and out to right his wrongs. If he is even close to the player Burfict is, bring him on. Can’t hurt to give him a shot. Low cost, hi reward situation for Cincinnati. Got a feeling, they will let Maualuga walk this offseason, move Burfict to middle.
Do the Bengals formally participate in work-release programs?
From one orange uni to another…
As a Passionate Bengals fan let me educate some that care as others may not they are here for the 1 liners…. Brandon committed the crime as a kid over 6 years ago….Since then he has lived the life of almost a Monk…So why do we NOT look at a guy as UDFA and see what he has???….I bet Bill Belichick would do it…. We didn’t spend a draft pick and if he gets arrested in Cincy he is on the street before he blinks….Burfict worked although Burfict was never arrested…He will be watched closely and if it works out many teams will be wishing they gave him a chance… I just believe in a guy getting a 2nd chance..stay tuned
They inevitably won’t ALL work out, but if you take a low risk flyer on a guy and he winds up a stud… then well… you have yourself another Vontaze Burfict.
You can’t call Mike Brown a fool for this move. And really, it’s Marvin Lewis pulling the string on this anyway, as he likes to have a pet project every year to work on… some work, some don’t, but it’s worth a shot at giving a guy a chance for redemption for zero risk.
I for one am fine with my team being branded the landing spot for redemption stories. Makes it fun to pull for them, IMO.
ghostofgilchrist says:
Jan 17, 2013 12:01 PM
From one orange uni to another…
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lol, exactly.
The headline says it all.
randyschwimmer7 says:
Jan 17, 2013 11:07 AM
Shocking, another player in trouble with the law on the Bengals!
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That was funny… in 2006.
This dude was endorsed by the Governor of Arkansas. That’s good enough for me. Also…
Arrests from 2007-present
Broncos- 21
Jaguars- 18
Buccaneers- 17
Vikings- 17
Dolphins- 16
Bengals- 16
Titans- 15
Colts- 13
Falcons- 13
Steelers-12
Seahawks- 12
So why are there no stories focusing on how the Broncos, Jags, Bucs, Vikings or Dolphins harbor criminals? Also, the Bengals had 1 arrest last year, compared to 7 for the Lions. Maybe it’s time to ditch the outdated stereotype? Maybe not. Lets just keep pretending the Bengals are far and away the worst team when it comes to arrests.
“Arrests from 2007-present
Broncos- 21
Jaguars- 18
Buccaneers- 17
Vikings- 17
Dolphins- 16
Bengals- 16
Titans- 15
Colts- 13
Falcons- 13
Steelers-12
Seahawks- 12″
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I guess my Raiders are slipping.
rayguyreturns says:
I guess my Raiders are slipping.
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The Raiders are tied for 14th most arrests with 10.
LOL when the best defense Bengal fans have is “we’re only 6th in the league in arrests”.