The Kansas City Chiefs released defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs on after two recent arrests in Alabama. The 27-year-old Buggs, who signed a $1,292,500 contract with Kansas City for the upcoming season, turned himself in May 30 after he was charged with two misdemeanor counts of second-degree animal cruelty. Two dogs that were under Buggs' care were allegedly found neglected and malnourished, and one of the dogs had to be euthanized.
On June 16, Buggs was arrested on a charge of domestic violence/burglary and released on a $5,000 bond, according to records from the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
The run-stuffing tackle out of Alabama played three seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers before spending the past two with the Detroit Lions. He has started 23 games and appeared in 56 in his career, with 89 tackles and two sacks.
Buggs isn’t the only former member of the Crimson Tide to recently face criminal charges.
The Associated Press reported last year how former Alabama player Henry Ruggs was sentenced to at least three years in a Nevada prison for killing a woman in a fiery crash while driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 miles per hour on a Las Vegas city street nearly two years prior. He was playing for the Raiders at the time.
“I sincerely apologize,” the former first-round NFL draft pick said as he stood for sentencing in Las Vegas after pleading guilty to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, a charge carrying a six-month jail sentence that will be folded in with his three-to-10-year prison term.
Ruggs was cut by the Raiders while he was still hospitalized following the predawn crash on Nov. 2, 2021. The collision killed Tina Tintor and her dog Max and injured Ruggs’ passenger, Kiara Je’nai Kilgo-Washington, his fiancee and mother of their daughter.
“I have no excuses,” Ruggs said, citing pain the case has caused his family, teammates and Tintor’s family. Ruggs said that after prison, he intends to counsel others “about the dangers of driving at unsafe speed and driving and drinking.”
