Nearly a year after he was released by the Washington Football Team in light of an arrest for domestic violence-related charges, former NFL running back Derrius Guice had four misdemeanor charges, including three counts of assault and battery, dropped Wednesday after reaching a settlement with his ex-girlfriend. As ESPN reports, Virginia law notes that some charges can be dropped if the victim states in writing that they receive satisfactory injury compensation. Both Guice and his ex-girlfriend, per ESPN, appeared in court and requested the court accept their settlement.
Guice, who'd also been charged with destruction of property, had an additional felony charge of strangulation dropped in January. The former LSU product has not played in the NFL since his release last August.
Washington coach Ron Rivera had been tasked with rebuilding his organization's culture last offseason and wasted no time parting ways with Guice after reports surfaced of the running back's charges. Minutes after The Washington Post reported he had been arrested, the Football Team announced that it had released the former second-round draft pick, parting ways with him after just two seasons.
"On Thursday we learned of a potential domestic violence-related incident involving Derrius Guice," the team said in a statement at the time. "We immediately alerted the National Football League and have continued to work with them during this process. We then met with Derrius to inform him that he was excused from all team activity pending a review of this matter ... Upon review of the nature of these charges and following internal discussions, we have decided to release Derrius immediately."
Guice cleared waivers upon his release, going unclaimed to officially become a free agent. His attorney said in the wake of the chargers that he intended to fight the charges in court, alleging that Washington did not hold its own investigation before cutting ties with the RB.
Guice was set to enter a critical season in Washington, where he was limited to just five games through two NFL seasons. The running back turned himself into Loudoun County police in Virginia, as NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay reported, and could have faced jail time if he'd been convicted.
The NFL has grown increasingly strict in regards to domestic violence incidents, often instituting a six-game suspension for first-time offenses and a lifetime ban for a repeat violation. Rivera, meanwhile, had been publicly championing a reverse of Washington's culture in the wake of several headlining incidents when he first joined the team -- namely the club's retirement of its longtime nickname following mass public pressure, as well as a bombshell Washington Post expose regarding allegedly pervasive sexual harassment within the organization.
Drafted 59th overall in 2018, Guice reportedly slid out of the first round in part due to character concerns but had avoided any off-field troubles through his first two seasons. A torn ACL sidelined him for his entire rookie season, and he was limited to five games in 2019 following a torn meniscus in Week 1. He was expected to help lead Washington's ground game in 2020 alongside veteran Adrian Peterson and rookie Antonio Gibson.
