Braylon Edwards showed no signs of being physically drunk prior to Tuesday morning’s arrest for driving while intoxicated, said a league source with knowledge of the situation. The league source spoke to Metro on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to publicly comment on the incident.
The Jets’ wide receiver was pulled over at 5:15 a.m. in Manhattan by uniformed officers from the local seventh precinct. The officers went after Edwards’ SUV because of illegal tint on the windows, but after smelling alcohol, administered a breathalyzer. He reportedly blew a .16 — twice the legal limit. Edwards was arrested and later arraigned on DWI charges.
On Monday evening, Edwards attended a charity event sponsored by teammate Jerricho Cotchery. At around 10 p.m., the source told Metro New York that Cotchery and a group of people that included Jets left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and defensive end Vernon Gholston, left the event for a local bar. Edwards and his party left the bar at 1 a.m. to go to another bar. The source said that the players were out late because there was no practice on Tuesday and they were in a particularly celebratory mood following the Jets 28-14 win over New England the day before.
Neither Edwards nor his Jets teammates left Manhattan throughout the entirety of Monday night and into Tuesday morning. Edwards and the rest of the revelers walked on foot to every stop on the night before heading back to his SUV.
Edwards then got behind the wheel to drive teammates to New Jersey to retrieve their vehicles. The league source said no one in the party suspected Edwards was under the influence, which is why none of them took advantage of the Jets’ Player Protect Program that provides 24/7 car service for all players.
“He wasn’t stumbling, he wasn’t physically showing signs of intoxication,” the league source said. “The people in the car and the players with him were not visibly concerned with Braylon’s actions.”
Edwards was driving both Ferguson and Gholston back to New Jersey when he was pulled over by the police. The source said the police officers had made it clear to the players they were Giants fans but that after Edwards was arrested and taken away, the NYPD personally drove both Ferguson and Gholston to their vehicles in New Jersey.
The source said neither Ferguson or Gholston were visibly drunk and had no concerns about riding in a vehicle driven by Edwards.
“He appeared fine and was acting fine,” the league source said of the players and their response to Edwards. “What are the players going to do, punch him and take his keys? There was no reason for that.”
