For the second time this year, former Baltimore Raven Matt Elam has been arrested. Following up on his February arrest for marijuana possession, Elam was taken into a Palm Beach County Jail on Monday on charges of larceny and battery.
I assume the Grand Theft charge on Matt Elam is for the money he stole from the @Ravens.
— Tom Lathroum (@TL8throum) May 22, 2017
It wasn’t.
According to a report from the Palm Beach Post, Elam was booked at the county jail at 8:45 a.m. and faces charges of larceny between $300 and $5,000 and for battery. Bail totaled $4,500. A police report said police were called to the home of Elam’s girlfriend around 4:00 AM. The report says Elam stopped by to pick up his car, but the girlfriend claims Elam attempted to grab her cell phone out of her hand because he paid for it. A fight over possession of the phone ensued, leading to the battery charge. The girlfriend suffered some cuts during the fight, according to TMZ Sports.
Elam told police he asked his girlfriend for money, and he said he took the phone when she refused to give him the money he requested. According to Elam, his girlfriend took his phone as well.
We’ll see how this all plays out moving forward, but it is, at the very least, another metaphorical black eye that Elam could not afford to have while sitting in free agency.
In late February, Elam was arrested with 126 grams of marijuana and six oxycodone pills in Miami. As a result of that incident, the Baltimore Ravens released a statement confirming Elam was no longer in the team’s future plans for 2017 and beyond. With the Ravens moving on from Elam and the drug arrest in February alone, Elam’s future in the NFL after being drafted in 2013 looked bleak at best.
Weird that Matt Elam was arrested for battery when he was the one routinely getting beat on the football field ?
— Samuel Njoku (@SamNjokuSports) May 22, 2017
Matt Elam really cementing himself as the absolute worst pick in Ravens history. I would hate to be the scout that went to bat for that guy.
— Jonathan Dugan (@DuganFootball) May 22, 2017
When Matt Elam came back to finish his degree & got a part time job at Finish Line, I was like "that's how you set an example"
WTF happened
— C00P (@C00P_33) May 22, 2017
Throw this latest episode on top of the pile that also includes a previous suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and it is beginning to look like a jagged and steep climb up the mountain to get another call from the NFL.