NFL notes
Published 10:13 pm Sunday, February 24, 2008
VIKINGS: Minnesota offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie was arrested for aggravated battery after a street brawl outside a nightclub early Sunday.
McKinnie also was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence, according to a police report.
Authorities were called to Club Space after a fight broke out. McKinnie had been thrown out by a nightclub security guard and was arguing and spit on Eric Otero, according to a police report.
Otero, 32, said he wouldn’t press charges if McKinnie left. Authorities said the former University of Miami player then went to a nearby strip club, but later returned to Club Space and fought with Otero again.
Miami Police found McKinnie “in the middle of a large crowd, throwing punches and again yelling obscenities,” according to the police report.
Police told McKinnie to stop. He refused and boarded a bus. The bus driver was ordered not to drive away.
The 6-foot-8, 335-pound McKinnie, a staple on the Vikings’ offensive line since being drafted out of Miami in 2002, was arrested and bonded out for $9,000 at 2:25 p.m., Miami-Dade County Corrections Department spokeswoman Janelle Hall said.
McKinnie has been in trouble before. The NFL fined him one game check for his role in a rowdy team boat party on Lake Minnetonka in 2005. McKinnie pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in that incident.
It is unclear what caused the brawl. Police said McKinnie was transported to the jail with injuries, but the extent was not known.
CHARGERS: Derek Smith, released Tuesday by the San Francisco 49ers, agreed to a two-year deal with San Diego on Sunday. Smith, whose role with the 49ers was assumed last season by rookie Patrick Willis, will bolster San Diego’s inside linebackers group. He spent seven seasons with the 49ers, and was their leading tackler from 2001-05. He’s spent the last three years playing in a 3-4 defense, which is what the Chargers play.
BEARS: Chicago tight end Desmond Clark agreed to a two-year contract extension through the 2010 season. Over the past two years, Clark has averaged 13.2 yards per catch — most among NFL tight ends. He was third on the team with 44 receptions for 545 yards and four touchdowns last season, giving him 15 in five years with Chicago — second to Mike Ditka (34).
Associated Press
