NEW YORK -- New York Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards was arrested Tuesday on charges of driving while intoxicated after officers pulled him over because the windows on his SUV were too tinted, police said.
Edwards was pulled over on the west side of Manhattan around 5:15 a.m., and officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol, said chief NYPD spokesman Paul Browne.
Edwards was given a breath test at the scene and another at a police station. His blood alcohol level was .16, twice the legal limit, officials said. There were four other people in the SUV at the time.
In January, Edwards was placed on probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor aggravated disorderly conduct in Cleveland for punching a man outside a nightclub. He was traded by the Browns to the Jets two days after the October nightclub encounter.
Edwards' lawyer, Peter M. Frankel, declined to comment as he awaited the player's arraignment. A call to Edwards' agent wasn't returned.
Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said Edwards showed poor judgment.
"We are very disappointed in Braylon's actions this morning," Tannenbaum said in a statement. "We are reviewing the information with the league and will impose the appropriate disciplinary measures."
Tannenbaum noted the Jets have a special program in which a player who drinks can call for a driver to take him home.
The NFL had no comment. Edwards could be in line for a suspension for violations of NFL policies on alcohol and on player conduct policy.
Edwards had a big game for the Jets in their 28-14 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, catching five passes, including a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. He was penalized for taunting -- he danced in front of the defensive back covering him -- after his 10-yard TD catch and coach Rex Ryan clearly wasn't happy on the sideline, shaking his head.
The former first-round pick out of Michigan in 2005 said during the Jets' playoff run last season that he wanted to finish his career in New York. Edwards signed a contract tender with the Jets in March worth $6.1 million, and will be a free agent after this season.
During his weekly spot on WFAN-AM on Tuesday morning, Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said Edwards attended a Monday night event in support of Cotchery's nonprofit foundation benefiting underprivileged youth in Manhattan. Cotchery said several teammates were there, and the event ran from 6:30 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. on Manhattan's west side.
It's not clear where Edwards was coming from when he was pulled over.
Edwards' arrest throws the Jets' receiving corps further into flux for Sunday night's game at Miami because Santonio Holmes has two more games remaining on his four-game suspension. As of early Tuesday, Cotchery, Brad Smith and David Clowney were the three remaining receivers on the Jets' roster.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
