Cleveland Browns News: Two Players Arrested After Traffic Stop On Christmas Day

As the Cleveland Browns prepare for one of the last games of the 2015 NFL regular season, two players won’t be anywhere near the field on Sunday. Linebacker Armonty Bryant and safety De’Ante Saunders were both arrested on Christmas morning following a traffic stop, so they are definitely out for this weekend’s game with the Kansas City Chiefs.

ESPN reports that the arrest came early on Friday morning, and the team was immediately made aware of the situation. Browns General Manager Ray Farmer sent out a statement advising of the arrests.

“These are charges that we take very seriously. The importance of responsible decision-making is something we continually stress to all members of our organization, which makes it extremely disappointing that these two individuals would put themselves in this situation by making such poor decisions.”

Saunders is on the Browns’ practice squad, so he isn’t even a part of the active roster for the team. He wasn’t going to be playing on Sunday anyway, but Bryant definitely would have been. Armonty Bryant is second on the team in total sacks with 5.5 on the season.

According to Fox Sports, Saunders was driving the vehicle along I-71 early on Christmas morning when they were stopped and then arrested at 2:16 a.m.

Saunders was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence and also speeding. The police report did not have the exact charges brought upon Bryant and news was not available as to why he was arrested along with his teammate.

Full information from the state highway patrol said that there would be no further information available until after 10 p.m. on Saturday. Still, there have been some early reports that have come ut stating things were a bit more serious than a traffic stop.

During the arrest of Cleveland Browns Armonty Bryant & De’Ante Saunders a gun & the prescription drug Adderall was found in the car. #NFL

— Scott Taylor (@ScottTaylorTV) December 26, 2015

As expected, the incident regarding the arrests of the two players is subject to the NFL’s personal conduct policy. There is likely going to be a punishment or discipline of some sort that will be handed down from the league once more information is known.

The Cleveland Browns also have the option of handing down discipline of their own to Armonty Bryant and De’Ante Saunders. One thing that is already certain is that Bryant is inactive for Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.

Bryant’s presence on defense will certainly be missed, but the arrests of him and Saunders only adds to the tumultuous season that the Cleveland Browns have had.

The season has gone nothing like they’ve expected as they currently sit in the cellar of the AFC North with a record of 3-11.

Injuries have plagued them the entire season, especially on defense, and the losses of big names like Joe Haden have hurt them. Throughout the season, others have missed two games here and four games there, and it’s often caused a scramble.

Then, the quarterback carousel has been a mess as usual.

Josh McCown began the season as the starter, but then he got injured and it brought in Johnny Manziel. Off-field problems for Manziel saw him go from starter to back-up to starter third-string to back-up to starter all in the matter of about two weeks.

The Cleveland Browns really just can’t wait for this season to be over and are hoping that next year will be better. The arrests of Armonty Bryant and De’Ante Saunders on Christmas Day just add to the problem that the 2015 season has actually been.

[Image by Jason Miller/Getty Images]