New Chicago Bears wide receiver Byron Pringle was arrested in Florida on Saturday and charged with reckless driving as well as driving while license suspended or revoked, per WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa. Pringle was observed by Florida Highway Patrol doing donuts in his Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat.
According to arrest documents obtained by News Channel 8, officers first noticed a cloud of smoke that "reduced the visibility to nearly zero" for drivers heading west. They then stopped Pringle and noticed he had a child in the back seat. After running his license, officers discovered it was suspended.
Pringle was then reportedly told he was under arrest for reckless driving, and officers said he ignored verbal commands and became confrontational. He was eventually apprehended, and charged with reckless driving and driving while license suspended or revoked.
The 28-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Bears just last month. Pringle spent his first three NFL seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, and had a career year in 2021 with 42 catches for 568 yards and five touchdowns. In the wild-card matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers this past January, he caught two touchdowns. Pringle is from Tampa, and attended Kansas State University before going undrafted in the 2018 NFL Draft. In 46 career games, he has caught 67 passes for 898 yards and seven touchdowns.