Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer quarterback Chris Simms was arrested for DWI drugs in New York after police claim he told them he had been smoking marijuana. Simms left the courthouse claiming that the case against him was weak and stemmed from a misunderstanding with the arresting officers who claim he admitted to smoking pot.
According to police Sims smelled of marijuana, had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech when he was stopped at a Manhattan checkpoint. Police claimed that Simms admitted to smoking marijuana at the time of the stop. The son of former New York Giant great Phil Simms denied that he said he was smoking pot through his defense attorney.
Simms’ lawyer said the former Tampa Bay Buc only admitted to smoking cigarettes and not smoking pot. Apparently there were two other people in the car with Simms and his wife who is eight months pregnant. Simms’ lawyer suggested the odor of pot may have been coming from one of the unidentified passengers in the back seat and he went on to claim that Sims would never be reckless enough to drive while on drugs with his pregnant wife in the front seat next to him.
The DWI charge carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $1000 fine. He was offered the opportunity to plead guilty and pay a $500 fine, six-month license revocation and community service for three days but Simms rejected that offer. He was released without bail and will report back to court in August to face the misdemeanor traffic violation charges.
Simms is currently a back-up quarterback with the Tennessee Titans. He has started a total of 16 games in his NFL career that spans six-years. He was originally selected out of the University of Texas in the third round of the NFL draft by the Buccaneers. He has also played with the Denver Broncos during his career.
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