The Tampa Bay Bucs rank near the top of the NFL standings in one category, at least, but it can’t be one of which the team is particularly proud.
The Bucs are tied for third in the league as far as players being arrested over the last five years, says a study by former San Jose Mercury-News reporter Mike Rosenberg.
The Bucs had 13 arrests over the last five years, the same as the Colts. They trail the Vikings (18) and the Broncos (16) as far as arrests. The Houston Texans, with one arrest, were the most orderly team in the league.
The stats are a bit misleading, however. Five of the arrests took place in 2013 and three in the later stages of 2010, and they involved such players as Aqib Talib, Mike Williams and Jeramy Stevens. The Bucs have had only two arrests, both of them minor incidents, since the hiring of new coach Lovie Smith.
Then there is this: the list is just raw numbers and says nothing about the severity of the crimes. The Bucs haven’t had anything like New England’s Aaron Hernandez, who was arrested for murder, or then-Baltimore running back Ray Rice or then-Carolina defensive end Greg Hardy, who were arrested for domestic battery.
In the last year, the Colts’ (five) arrests leads Rosenberg’s research. Since 2012, it is the 49ers. Since 2000, the Vikings have had 48 arrests.
Over the last five years, there were 260 arrests in the NFL as a whole.
