Jags suspend Fowler and Ramsey after dustups
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Jaguars suspended defensive end Dante Fowler and All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Sunday for team rules violations and conduct unbecoming a Jaguars football player.
Neither will make the trip to Minnesota on Tuesday for two days of joint practices in advance of a preseason game. The Jaguars and Vikings will play Saturday.
Fowler was involved in several fights Sunday, including one after practice with fellow defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. Ramsey shouted profanities at media members who captured the altercation on video and later threatened reporters with “war” for releasing the video. Ramsey made his threat via Twitter.
The team released a onesentence statement Sunday evening announcing the suspensions. Coach Doug Marrone is expected to address the decision Tuesday.
The whole thing seemingly started during practice and carried off the field.
Fowler and Ngakoue exchanged words while leaving practice, prompting a skirmish in which no punches were thrown. They got into it again outside the practicefield gates and had to be pulled apart by teammates, coaches and security personnel. General manager Dave Caldwell could be seen leading Ngakoue away by the wrist.
The altercation came on the last of 11 consecutive practices in full pads and in sweltering heat and humidity. It also came a few minutes after a scuffle near the end of practice, when Fowler appeared to shove tight end James O’Shaughnessy out of bounds after O’Shaughnessy made a catch. Teammates rushed to break it up.
The suspension is the latest problem for Fowler, whose checkered past includes two arrests.
He was arrested last year after confronting a 55-yearold man who made a comment about his driving. St. Petersburg police said Fowler exchanged words with the man before hitting him and knocking off his glasses. Fowler then stepped on the glasses before taking the man’s grocery bag and tossing it in a lake.
Fowler eventually pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of battery, criminal mischief and petty theft. The case was closed in March, with Fowler sentenced to a year of probation and 75 hours of community service.
The NFL suspended him without pay for the season opener, a one-game penalty that will cost him $214,000.
Fowler also was arrested in Miami Beach in March 2016 and charged with misdemeanor counts of assault against a police officer and resisting arrest without violence. The charges were later dropped. That arrest came a little more than two weeks after a video surfaced showing Fowler refereeing a fight between his girlfriend and an ex-girlfriend. He also has a long list of traffic violations.
Fowler missed the first two weeks of training camp while recovering from a shoulder injury. He was removed from the physically unable to perform list Saturday, so his altercation with Ngakoue came during his second day of practice.