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Former Hokie great Cody Grimm has found himself in legal trouble, stemming from a public intoxication arrest early in the morning Tuesday at around 5:30 A.M. at the Hampton Inn in Leesburg, Va. according to the Washington Post. As the Post points out:
"The charge is a misdemeanor - but for Grimm, the matter could be complicated by a previous public intoxication arrest, on March 10 in Christiansburg, Va. That case, records show, was given a "deferred disposition," which allows prosecutors to drop a charge if assuming the accused fulfills certain promises and stays out of trouble."
How Grimm's earlier arrest seemed to slip by unheard of is unknown, but given the deferred disposition status, sometimes those records can be sealed contingent upon meeting the conditions set forth by that judge/court. However, given that arrest was made on March 10 for the same crime, I highly doubt this would qualify as meeting those conditions.
And according to CBS Sports, the Buccaneers are not so happy to hear about these off the field issues for Cody:
"Our players know our expectations on and off the field and we take these matters very seriously,'' Schiano said. "When we feel we have obtained all the necessary information, we will act accordingly."
So the question is, what does this do for Grimm's NFL career? Well, we don't know the whole picture, but here's what we do know:
Grimm has played in 23 career games for the Buccaneers, who drafted him in the 7th round of the 2010 NFL Draft, starting 12, nine of which came as a rookie. Grimm has amassed 73 tackles (56 solo), a forced fumble, 2 interceptions, a touchdown and 3 passes defended in his three seasons in the NFL. His best statistical year came as a rookie, where he managed 57 stops (43 solo), the forced fumble, the 2 interceptions, the touchdown and two of his 3 passes defended.
Grimm played in 11 games as a rookie, but has only played 12 games total in the two seasons since, almost all coming in a reserve role. He fell behind as a result of his injuries and ineffectiveness (but mostly the former as he's missed 25 of a possible 48 games as a pro and finishing all three of his seasons on the Injured Reserve) and lost his starting job last year to second-year strong safety (then rookie) Mark Barron, who played well in his stead.
And according to Rotoworld:
"Bucs S Cody Grimm's 2013 base salary increased from $575,000 to $1.2 million after he hit escalators in his rookie deal."
but:
"Bucs S Cody Grimm agreed to a $500,000 salary slash to keep his roster spot in Tampa Bay.
The Bucs have loads of cap space, but GM Mark Dominik is smartly still keeping tabs on every small detail, refusing to overpay even for bottom-of-the-roster players. Grimm was owed $1.2 million and slashed his salary to $500,000. A 12-game starter his first two seasons in the league, Grimm is now entrenched as a backup and special teamer. He'll compete to keep his roster spot in camp"
and:
"Bucs S Cody Grimm was arrested for public intoxication in Leesburg, Va. early Sunday morning.
According to the Washington Post, it's the second time in three months that Grimm has been popped for public drunkenness. Both charges are misdemeanors, but the injury-prone special teamer was already on the roster bubble going into the final year of his rookie contract. He's not doing himself any favors."
So right now basically everything is uncertain for Grimm until Tampa Bay believes the matter to be resolved. At that point, Grimm's status on the team might be reviewed and Grimm might then be subject to punishment, both from the Buccaneers and the National Football League should he remain on the team. Unfortunately it looks like Grimm was going to be in a dogfight for a roster spot before any of this happened.
Cody is one of our favorites here at Gobbler Country, and we wish him well in getting this matter settled and getting back on the field next season.
For all your Virginia Tech sports news, including the unfortunate reality of having to cover former players' arrests, Gobbler Country is your best option. Don't go astray.