Bengals dump 2018 draft pick after offseason that includes police tasing, marijuana arrest and battery charge
The Bengals have decided to cut ties with one of their picks from the 2018 NFL Draft
The Cincinnati Bengals might be one of the most lenient teams in the NFL in terms of what their players can get away with, but apparently, even they have a limit when it comes to offseason arrests.
The Bengals announced on Saturday that they've decided to cut ties with Mark Walton, who's been arrested a total of three times this offseason. The third arrest came Thursday after he turned himself into police in Miami. Authorities had been trying to track him down in relation to a March 12 incident in Florida that saw Walton get tasered by police.
The former Bengals running back is now facing felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon, marijuana possession and reckless driving stemming from that incident.
According to a court documents obtained by the Miami Herald, the March 12 incident started when police tried to pull Walton over for speeding. After pulling over, Walton got out of his car and ran away from police on foot. During the chase, Walton was able to evade authorities despite the fact that he had been shot with a taser gun.
According to police, Walton's car contained 14 grams of marijuana and a 9mm carbine rifle. After seeing the details of the arrest, the Bengals decided to dump Walton. New Bengals coach Zac Taylor said it would be "best" for the team to move on without Walton.
"It's important for our team to get off to a fresh start as we begin the 2019 season," Taylor said in a statement. "For that reason, we felt it best if we move forward without Mark Walton. We hope his situation gets resolved, but we don't want to take anything away from the good work that so many other players have already begun to demonstrate."
Walton had been on the team since last April when the Bengals selected him in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Miami.
For Walton, the arrest on Thursday was just his latest run-in with the law. Back in February, the running back was charged with battery after getting into an altercation in a parking garage. One month before that, Walton was arrested and hit with a misdemeanor charge of possessing marijuana.
















