AP

Last week, a judge in Florida issued an arrest warrant for former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson for violating his probation on a domestic violence charge from last summer.

Johnson was reportedly out of the state at the time that the warrant was issued, but he’s back in Florida on Monday and TMZ reports that he’s now under arrest. Per the report, which features a picture of Johnson being cuffed by police officers, Johnson appeared in the Broward County courtroom and the judge ruled that he had violated his probation by missing two visits with his probation officer and failing to produce proof that he had enrolled in a domestic violence education class.

Johnson was placed on probation when he pleaded no contest to charges stemming from an incident with his then-wife Evelyn Lozada last August. Johnson’s arrest led to his release by the Dolphins and, most likely, the end of a professional football career that was already on its last legs.

There’s no word yet on bail or future court dates for Johnson.

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News broke earlier this week that Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington was under investigation for a domestic violence incident and there has been a new development in the case.

It’s not a good one for Washington. Mia Garcia of FOX 10 in Phoenix and other local outlets are reporting that Washington has been arrested on two counts of aggravated assault. Per the original police report, the alleged victim, Washington’s ex-girlfriend, showed “clear indications” of having been attacked and claimed that Washington had choked her.

Washington, who met with police on Thursday about the allegations, is already suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season due to a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. Should he be convicted of a crime in this case, he could face another suspension during the season for violating the Personal Conduct Policy.

“These are serious accusations that we are closely monitoring,” the Cardinals said in a statement before Washington was arrested. “Until all the facts are determined, and out of respect for the process, we will decline any further comment at this point.”

A wise position to take given how much still needs to play out in this case, but there’s no doubt that the offseason has not gone well for one of the Cardinals’ defensive leaders.

UPDATE 3:56 p.m. ET: Washington has released a statement.

“This is a legal matter and I am limited in what I can say other than that my lawyer and I will continue to cooperate with investigators and welcome the opportunity for all the facts to be presented. I regret that the situation has brought this kind of attention to my family and my team. I look forward to resolving it as soon as possible.”

AP

Cornerback Tharold Simon expected to hear his name called from the Radio City Music Hall podium sometime on Saturday, but having it called by police on Thursday could get in the way of that.

Simon, who went to LSU, was arrested in Eunice, Louisiana and charged with public intimidation, resisting an officer and unnecessary noise violation. KATC-TV reports that a police report alleges an officer asked Simon to move his car and Simon responded by telling the officer “I own Eunice” and “you are gonna be mine” before eventually moving. The report goes on to say Simon “backed the vehicle in an aggressive manner” and turned the radio up while moving his car. Finally, Simon is accused of telling the officer that the mayor of Eunice was on his side and that the officer would be fired for writing him a ticket.

KATC-TV also spoke to the aforementioned mayor and Rusty Moody said that the town would go ahead with a ceremony proclaiming today “Tharold Simon” day in Eunice.

“In the United States, our justice system says everyone is innocent until proven guilty,” Moody said.

Indeed it does, but the NFL Draft doesn’t work the same way. Simon was projected to be a middle-round pick in this year’s draft and we’ll see whether this incident, which seems to show poor judgment more than criminal intent, has any impact on that status.

AP

It didn’t take Browns linebacker Quentin Groves long to get in trouble in his new town.

Groves, who signed with the Browns as a free agent earlier this offseason, was arrested for solicitation. According to a report in Cleveland Scene magazine that has been confirmed by Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Groves was arrested at a hotel after responding to an ad from a prostitute promising “full service” that turned out to be a sting run by police in the towns of Beechwood and Orange along with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department.

Groves allegedly agreed to a price for sex acts on a call before arriving at the hotel — one hour of time for $100 with an additional $20 for a particular sex act – and became one of 14 men arrested as part of the operation. The report also states that $195.70 and a box of Magnum condoms were seized as evidence in the arrest, which took place while the Browns were holding a minicamp last week. Groves was not absent for any of that minicamp.

Groves, who signed a two-year deal with the Browns, is due in court on May 10. Neither the Browns nor Groves’ agent responded to requests for comment.

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Not much that went on with the Jets this season behind the scenes managed to stay out of the press, but the arrest of linebacker Bryan Thomas during the season was kept under wraps until Tuesday.

The Morris County Daily Record in New Jersey reports that Thomas has applied for admission into a probation program to resolve charges from his October 31st arrest. Thomas has been charged with assaulting his wife, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, and possession of 20 tablets of suspected hydrocodone.

According to the complaint, Thomas “allegedly pushed his wife with a kitchen chair (the weapon cited in the charges), punched her in the stomach, and grabbed her by the neck, causing pain and marks on her body.” Police found the drugs and paraphernalia at Thomas’s home.

Thomas posted $2,500 bail on those charges at the time. If he is allowed into the pre-trial diversion program for first-time offenders, the charges would be dismissed and his criminal record cleared upon completion of the conditions of probation.

AP

Nate Collins hasn’t made too many headlines on the field during his two seasons with the Jaguars, but he made one off the field when he was arrested for marijuana possession.

The Fauquier Times-Democrat reported Monday that Collins was arrested during a traffic stop last Thursday in Warrenton, Virginia. State troopers initially pulled Collins over for having illegally tinted windows and, per the Times-Democrat, they smelled marijuana in the car. A subsequent search turned up joints in a bag in the trunk. Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union tried to get comment from the police and Collins about the arrest, but was turned down on both fronts.

Collins had 10 tackles in 12 games for the Jaguars this season. He’s scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent this offseason.

AP

Cowboys cornerback Bryan McCann has issued a statement regarding his Saturday arrest on charges of public intoxication.

“To my family, friends, coaches, teammates, and all Dallas Cowboy & SMU fans, my good name and reputation mean everything to me,” the statement reads.  “I have never been arrested before and take pride in conducting myself at all times in a responsible and respectful manner off the football field. I was not intoxicated and did not pose a danger to myself or others.”

Per the earlier reports, McCann was arrested and taken into a Dallas detox center at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and released eight hours later. There have been no details released about what led to McCann’s arrest, but the charge does require officers to consider the intoxicated party to be a danger to themselves or others.

McCann’s statement wound up with a promise to fight the charges.

“I am very grateful that, due to the Constitution and Americans’ strong and enduring belief in due process, I am presumed innocent of this public intoxication charge because I am innocent.  I look forward to vigorously defending myself in a court of law.  I thank you for your continued support.”

AP

The lockout hasn’t kept NFL players from running afoul of the law, with Cowboys cornerback Bryan McCann the latest to show up on a police blotter.

WFAA-TV in Dallas was the first to report that the Cowboys cornerback was arrested early Saturday morning. He was charged with public intoxication, taken to the city detox center at 3:00 a.m. and released eight hours later. The television station had no details about what behavior led to the arrest. Neither McCann nor his agents responded to a request for comment from ESPNDallas.com on the incident.

The NFL plans to deal with McCann, and other players arrested during the lockout, under the Personal Conduct Policy once the league resumes normal operations. It remains to be seen if they’ll be successful in punishing players for what they do while away from work during a time that they are prevented from working.

McCann joined the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of SMU before the 2010 season. He was mostly a backup, but made two standout plays during his rookie season. He returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown in a win against the Giants and took a punt back 97 yards against the Lions the next week.  He was named NFC defensive player of the week and NFC special-teams player of the week for his efforts.

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Mike Florio brought you the news late Monday of Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen’s arrest for felony battery of a police officer. As it turns out, that’s not the only trouble he’s been in recently.

Griffen’s on a law-breaking binge.

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has confirmed a TMZ.com report that Griffen was also arrested last Friday night in Hollywood for public drunkenness.

During the course of his second arrest in four days, Griffen told police he “did not want to go back to jail.”

Griffen was released from custody at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities wrote this terrific profile of Griffen last June. It includes one NFL executive explaining why his team removed Griffen from its draft board last April.

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NFL draft season officially kicks off next Monday, when practices begin for the East-West Shrine Game in Orlando. The Senior Bowl starts the following Monday.

With the underclassmen deadline to declare for the draft coming Saturday, some potential early entrants are still weighing their decisions. 53 have announced their intentions to go pro, including Wisconsin defensive end J.J. Watt (pictured).

We’ve been tracking the underclassmen announcements all week. Bang it here for the full list.

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We didn’t think much of it when linebacker Kevin Alexander hit the waiver wire earlier today, losing his roster spot on the Broncos in favor of cornerback Chevis Jackson. Alexander appeared in nine games for Denver, recording just four tackles. He went undrafted out of Clemson this April.

The move became a story when it was revealed that, just hours before he was cut, Alexander was arrested on investigation of assault and battery by Aurora police in Colorado.

Alexander’s girlfriend told officers that the two argued Sunday night after the woman accused Alexander of cheating on her with one of her friends. Alexander allegedly “became mad and eventually grabbed her several times,” before throwing her to the ground.

“He then grabbed her around the throat and pushed her against the wall,” reads the police report. “She states that she was either punched or slapped in the right side of her face.”

The woman also accused Alexander of “punching her once before.”

Alexander was released from jail at 2 p.m. Monday on $2,000 bond.

He has a court date set for Tuesday.

KCPQ in Seattle and the Seattle Times both report that Seahawks defensive lineman Raheem Brock was arrested for driving under the influence in Seattle Saturday morning.

According to Washington State Patrol public information officer Julie Startup, Brock was released by the arresting officer without being formally booked into jail.  The arrest occurred at 3:00 a.m Saturday, presumably after a Friday night out on the town.

Brock has appeared in all nine of the Seahawks’ games, compiling 13 tackles and three sacks.  He was allowed to play Sunday against the Cardinals.

This is believed to be Brock’s first arrest as a pro.  He is a ninth-year veteran.

On Tuesday, Titans rookie defensive lineman David Howard entered a plea of no contest to a charge of misdemeanor assault.  Howard, a product of Brown University, was arrested in Rhode Island in April of 2009 for allegedly beating up a patron at a bar for which he bounced.

Dolphins defensive end Tony McDaniel was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor battery charge.

An initial report about Cowboys fullback Deon Anderson’s Tuesday morning arrest made the situation sound relatively minor.