Just over a week after Isaiah Buggs was arrested for the second time this offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs have released the defensive lineman, the team announced on Monday. According to an ESPN report, Buggs, 27, is currently in jail while facing domestic violence and burglary charges stemming from an alleged Alabama incident earlier this month.
The Chiefs had not publicly commented on Buggs’ most recent arrest, which occurred June 16. Tuscaloosa district court documents alleged that Buggs “unlawfully” entered a woman’s apartment that morning and dragged the mother of his child down the stairs with the “intent to commit a crime.” This came less than a month after Buggs turned himself in on misdemeanor charges of alleged animal cruelty.
Buggs’ agent, Trey Robinson, argued at the time that his client was the victim of a “subversive campaign” to force the closure of the defensive lineman’s Tuscaloosa-based business, as ESPN reported.
Originally a sixth-round draft pick out of Alabama in 2019, Buggs only joined the Chiefs in January, as a member of the practice squad. Signed to a new futures contract in February, he had yet to appear in a game for Kansas City. The Louisiana native began his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, appearing in 29 games from 2019-2021 as a reserve lineman. He played another 27 games for the Detroit Lions from 2022-2023, and was released just ahead of last year’s playoffs.
Buggs isn’t the only Chiefs player to face legal troubles this offseason, with wide receiver Rashee Rice still subject to NFL discipline after a high-speed car crash in March that resulted in multiple criminal charges.