Spellman Works Out With Jaguars
Alonzo Spellman, who was arrested on an outstanding weapons warrant earlier this week, may still have a future in the NFL with Jacksonville.
Spellman worked out with the Jaguars on Thursday, his first tryout with any team since he was released by the Chicago Bears after several run-ins with authorities.
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"Quality defensive linemen are always difficult to come by," Jaguars' coach Tom Coughlin said. "Whenever one becomes available, we want to do our physical and get our feeling, not just read from what someone else put together. We'll try to do all the research on every player that we're interested in, any time they're available."
"What happens from there is another story."
The Jaguars, who also looked at former Viking Fernando Smith, have had numerous injuries on the defensive line the past two seasons.
In February, 1996, the Jaguars signed Spellman to a four-year, $12 million offer sheet in February 1996 as a transitional free agent, but the Bears matched the offer.
But then came the troubles.
The 26-year-old defensive end was released by the Bears in June after a disappointing season and erratic off-field behavior.
Last Monday night, Spellman was arrested in New Jersey on an outstanding weapons warrant and spent the night in jail. He faces an extradition hearing in Mount Holly, N.J., to return to Michigan, where police in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak issued a warrant for his arrest after he failed to appear for a court hearing last month.
That hearing stemmed from his arrest in June. Police in Michgan said they found a semiautomatic pistol in his vehicle after stopping him for driving erratically. Spellman was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, operating a motor vehicle without a license and possessing an open alcohol container in a motor vehicle.
In May, Spellman was involved in a scuffle with security guards at a Detroit hotel while he was trying to break up a fight between two women accompanying him.
And in March, Spellman was hospitalized after an eight-hour standoff with Chicago police at the home of his publicist. Spellman was angry over reports that the Bears were trying to trade him and had an outburst at the home after a doctor failed to show up to administer a scheduled league-required steroids test.
Former Bears standout Mike Singletary, who was just inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, intervened in the standoff and talked Spellman into leaving. Spellman was hospitalized, but walked out of the facility two days later and was found wandering the streets in freezing weather wearing no shoes or shirt.
Spellman led the Bears in sacks in 1996 with eight but had only two last season.
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