Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was arrested in Alabama earlier this month and faces felony charges for possession of synthetic marijuana, which leaves him at risk of both jail time and a suspension from the league.
Dareus talked about the arrest on Wednesday, saying that he’s “not a trouble guy” and that he’s confident the Bills believe in him. Dareus also said that reports about the arrest were incorrect.
“It’s not what you guys think,” Dareus said, via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com. “The media put things out there the wrong way. You [reporters] put things out there. I’m not really going to say [what is inaccurate]. I didn’t really pay that much attention to it. I got a lot of text messages and things.”
Dareus’ arrest came just after the Bills decided to exercise the 2015 option on his contract, a decision that came after the team said talks about a longer extension were on the radar this offseason. The team expressed disappointment after the arrest and coach Doug Marrone didn’t talk about Dareus’ contract on Wednesday, though he did share that he told Dareus that “the more that he can be here, the better job that he seems to do.”
The 2015 option is guaranteed for injury only, so the Bills have the ability to wait and see how things play out in the legal system -- no court date has been set yet -- and on the field with Dareus before deciding if anything’s changed with their radar.