NFL places Jaguars CB Chris Claybrooks on exempt list amid domestic violence charges

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The NFL placed Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Chris Claybrooks on the commissioner’s exempt list Tuesday following his July arrest on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges.

Claybrooks is not allowed to practice or attend games while on the list. The announcement came as the Jaguars paired down their roster to 53 players.

A fourth-year backup from Memphis, Claybrooks has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Sept. 11 that could provide some clarity on whether the league suspends him, and if so, for how long.

Claybrooks entered a plea of not guilty earlier this month. The domestic battery charge is a misdemeanor, and the false imprisonment charge is a third-degree felony.

The 26-year-old defender was arrested after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigated an incident from September 2022. A woman told police she and Claybrooks argued, and when she tried to leave their shared residence, he restrained her, according to an arrest report.

The woman provided investigators with a video showing Claybrooks forcefully grabbing her, moving her back into the home and restraining her upper body, according to the report.

It was the second time Claybrooks has been arrested and charged with domestic assault. He also was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, in mid-April and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault with bodily injury and vandalism.

Claybrooks allegedly grabbed a cellphone from a woman and damaged it by throwing it to the ground, according to an affidavit. He reached a settlement in that case.

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