Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell, who was arrested in Florida earlier this week while completely naked, apparently does not remember anything about the incident.
McDowell was arrested in Deerfield Beach, Fla. on Monday. He was walking around the streets completely naked, and entered the property of a children’s learning center. He was also accused of a “violent attack” on an arresting deputy.
Reggie Wynns, who coached McDowell at Southfield High School in Michigan, fought back tears as he spoke to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer about the incident.
“He said he doesn’t remember anything,” Wynns said. “He doesn’t remember nothing. He was so emotional. It had me in tears, because he was trying, trying, trying so hard.”
Videos from before and during the arrest showed McDowell fully naked. He writhed on the ground while being arrested.
A deputy alleged that McDowell “charged at me … at full speed with closed fist.”
McDowell was a second-round pick for the Seahawks in 2017, due to a combination of injuries and arrests did not appear in a game until this season with the Browns. He played in 15 games and accumulated three sacks and 19 solo tackles. He is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
“Apparently somebody may have slipped him something or given him something he was unaware of, which explains some of his bizarre behavior,” McDowell’s attorney said.
Asked about that explanation, Wynns, his high school coach, could not make sense of the situation.
“I don’t know if someone laced him or what,” Wynns said. “I don’t know. That’s not him at all. All I’m hoping is that when they test him, they figure out that he had been drugged.
“You don’t do a great job for 17 games starting for the Cleveland Browns and then go to a training facility, and then you’re walking down the street [naked] and doing what he did. That doesn’t make sense to me.”