Report: Cardinals’ John Abraham To Return To Camp After Arrest

According to Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910, it is expected that John Abraham will return to training camp next week following his arrest. 

The Arizona Cardinal was arrested for driving under the influence in Georgia. This marks his second offense, of this kind, since he joined the NFL.

Bob McManaman of AZCentral.com first reported that the event took place last month in suburban Atlanta. He added, “Arrest reports in DeKalb County showed that John Antonio Abraham, 36, was detained, questioned and later charged with multiple counts, including DUI, on June 29.”

According to John Weinfuss of ESPN, more information has since been released. Details including the fact that it took the officer “several” minutes to wake Abraham, whose speech was “very mumbled” and at time slurred, according to the report. The defensive end told the officer he had two drinks and that he had been waiting on someone to pick him up but said that person never arrived. Abraham also said he didn’t feel safe to drive and didn’t want to drive, according to the report.

As reported by Atlanta police, Abraham failed a series of field sobriety tests, including the walking and balancing tests. He also couldn’t recite the alphabet from C to X, according to the report, finally giving up. All of which led him to being arrested.

In regards to this incident, John Abraham released this statement and public apology on Friday, August 1st.

"“First, I want to apologize to my family and friends, the Cardinals organization, my teammates and the fans for letting them down. I understand the significance of my actions and right now I am taking the necessary steps to handle my personal business. I am very thankful for the support from my family, friends and especially the Cardinals organization during this time in my life. I am looking forward to being back with my teammates in the near future.”"

Abraham was also charged in 2003 with a DUI, and most recently in 2012 for obstruction of justice which he puts down to “bad timing.”

"“I’m not going through that stuff again. It’s a bigger headache than it’s worth. I got mine one time, and one time is enough,” John Abraham said following the incident last August. “It’s brought more pain than it did anything else. That one night of partying wasn’t worth all the things I had to go through.”"

It was also reported that John Abraham was missing from training camp due to a “personal matter” and was fully excused by head coach Bruce Arians. It is unclear if the recent events are related, but the Cardinals are hoping to have him back in action soon.

Abraham was selected to his fifth Pro Bowl this past season after totaling 11.5 sacks in his first year in Arizona.

Over the course of his 14-year career with the Cardinals, Jets and Atlanta Falcons, he has totaled 133.5 sacks to rank most among active players. He is currently ninth on the all-time list after passing Lawrence Taylor last season.

Let’s hope that Abraham does return as expected next week so the Cardinals don’t have to play without a veteran leader on the team.