Justin Blackmon arrested in Oklahoma, charged with DUI
Suspended Jacksonville Jaguarswide receiver Justin Blackmon is facing more legal issues after his fourth substance abuse arrest.
According to an Ardmore (Oklahoma) Police Department arrest report, police performed a traffic stop on a 2015 Jeep Wrangler that Blackmon was driving because of a non-working brake light at 3:46 a.m. ET. The report said the officer smelled alcohol and asked Blackmon and the passenger, identified as Reginald Thompson, if they had been drinking.
The report said both admitted to drinking at a local bar and that Blackmon said he had "just two drinks." The officer said Blackmon had slurred and slow speech and asked Blackmon to take several field sobriety tests.
The report said Blackmon failed those tests and also failed a preliminary breath test. Blackmon was then arrested, after which he refused to take a breathalyzer test.
According to the report, Blackmon became angry and refused to give officers his phone number when he was booked at the Carter County Jail for DUI.
This is Blackmon's third alcohol-related arrest and fourth arrest overall.
The former Oklahoma State standout was also arrested July 23, 2014, when Edmond (Oklahoma) Police Department officers stopped him for a traffic violation and said they could smell marijuana coming from his car. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor marijuana possession, a charge that was later reduced to disorderly conduct for which he had to play a $454 fine.
Blackmon's attorney said Blackmon completed a voluntary drug-rehab program in 2014.
Blackmon, 25, also was arrested in Texas in 2010 on a misdemeanor DUI charge (later reduced to underage alcohol possession) after police officers caught him speeding outside of Dallas. He was arrested again in May 2012 -- less than a month after the Jaguars drafted him -- during a traffic stop in Stillwater, Oklahoma, after a breath test allegedly showed his blood alcohol content to be three times the legal limit.
That arrest put him in the NFL's substance abuse program.
Blackmon caught 64 passes for 865 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie in 2012, but he failed an offseason drug test and was suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season. Blackmon returned for Weeks 5-8 and caught 29 passes for 415 yards and one touchdown before the NFL suspended him indefinitely following his third violation of the substance abuse policy.
Blackmon, selected fifth overall by the Jaguars in the 2012 draft, hasn't practiced or played since Week 8 of the 2013 season, when he received his indefinite suspension. He must apply for reinstatement and then go through a nearly two-month vetting process before he can get back on the field.
Jaguars general manager David Caldwell said in early August that the Jaguars have had no contact with Blackmon and believe that his two-year absence from the game makes it unlikely the 2012 first-round pick will play in the NFL again.
The Jaguars have not cut Blackmon, and Caldwell has said numerous times that the team does not plan to do so. Blackmon's spot on the reserve/suspended list means he doesn't count against the roster limit or salary cap, and the Jaguars do not have to pay his salary.
Blackmon's contract paused upon his suspension, so he would have two and a half years left on his deal with the Jaguars if he were to return to the NFL.
