Well, this is definitely not what you want to see if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan. At the time that this story is being written, we aren’t even 48 hours removed from the close of the 2021 NFL Draft, and the news on the second prospect taken by this proud franchise in the fourth round isn’t very encouraging.
Six-foot-five, 275-pound Rashad Weaver racked up 109 total tackles, 17 sacks, and five forced fumbles over the course of 34 career games with the Pitt Panthers. Unfortunately, even though that’s what we’d rather be discussing, all of that is on the backburner as he’s being charged with one count of simple assault.
This stems from an alleged incident that occurred on April 18th of this year. The news was first reported by John McGonigal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Here are the details if you’re a Tennessee Titans fan.
So far, at the time of this story being published, there hasn’t been much in the way of a statement from Weaver’s camp, but McGonigal’s story does contain the details of the criminal complaint that was filed in Pittsburgh’s magisterial district. Here’s some of what was said:
"According to the criminal complaint, police officers found a woman lying on the ground surrounded by a group of people at 2:28 a.m. April 18 on South 17th Street between East Carson and Bingham streets.Those at the scene said a large man, later identified as Mr. Weaver, punched the woman, Demetria Navjelis. Mr. Weaver was not at the scene when officers arrived. Ms. Navjelis was checked by a medic and released.One witness said she saw Mr. Weaver punch Ms. Navjelis. Another witness said she did not see Mr. Weaver punch Ms. Navjelis but did see her fall to the ground. Officer Anderson O’Kelly noted in the complaint that he observed no injury consistent with a punch to the head."
The NFL will, most certainly, do its part in terms of investigating the issue, but again, as of right now, there isn’t a ton of information that has come to the forefront.
Weaver is expected to compete for a role as an EDGE prospect once training camp begins. The Titans are no doubt looking to improve a defensive unit and a pass rush that was among several of the team’s weaknesses in 2020.
Bud Dupree and Denico Autry were added during the offseason, but the Tennessee Titans obviously wanted to infuse some youth with the presence of Weaver. He has more important things to think about than that right now, however.
Charges were filed against Weaver on May 1st. A preliminary hearing is scheduled at Pittsburgh Municipal Court. The date for that is October 5th of this year.