Former University of Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and former teammate Chris Rogers were arrested early Tuesday morning on charges of marijuana possession.
The Manatee County (Fla.) Sherriff’s Office website said both Kirkpatrick and Rogers were arrested at 12:48 a.m. and charged with possessing less than 20 grams of marijuana.
Kirkpatrick, 22, was a passenger in a vehicle that was both rented and driven by Rogers, 25, according to an incident report obtained by al.com. The vehicle was stopped by a Palmetto Police Department officer because it was being driven on the wrong side of the road, the website said.
Rogers admitted to purchasing the marijuana, while Kirkpatrick admitted to being in the vehicle when the purchase was made but said he did not know at the time that drugs were being purchased, according to the police report obtained by al.com. Both men were under the influence of drugs at the time of the arrest, the report said.
Radio personality Paul Finebaum said the arrest of Kirkpatrick, a junior who declared he would forgo his senior year at UA and enter the NFL Draft last week, certainly wouldn’t help his draft stock.
“I think a lot depends on how it plays out,” Finebaum said. “If there’s anything to it, it’s going to scare some people off, but I don’t think he’s got, at least from what I can tell, much negativity in his background. But something like this can send out a flare that there may be a problem.
“The NFL is probably as tough as any group of people in all of sports, that’s college and pro, when it comes to misconduct and you’ll pay for it. I do think you have to take a deep breath and you have to get the facts of the case. If it goes away quickly, it will be a minor blip.”
Finebaum referenced the questions that surrounded former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton leading up to last year’s NFL Draft.
“There were a million allegations against Cam Newton and what everyone thought would hurt him didn’t affect him one bit once he went through the interview process,” Finebaum said. “How he handles the combine will be important, but its also critical how quickly his lawyers can dispose of this.”
A key question at the end of the day, Finebaum said, is how the situation will develop. Although NFL general managers may presently view the arrest as a black mark, the facts haven’t yet surfaced, he said.
“I don’t think you can say right now that it’s going to be cataclysmic until the facts are in,” Finebaum said. “At the end of the day, if it’s a minor deal, and it looks like it’s minor from a legal standpoint, if he runs a good 40 and looks good in Indianapolis, then it will be a distant memory come late April.”
Kirkpatrick and Rogers were both released on $120 bond.
