Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee was arrested Tuesday morning in the Dallas suburb of The Colony and charged with driving while under the influence, according to Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
Kazee was pulled over for a traffic violation shortly after 3 a.m. and told the officer that he had been drinking. He reportedly failed a field sobriety test and was detained. The 28-year-old California native posted bond and was released around lunchtime that same day.
The Cowboys have not officially commented as of yet.
On Tuesday, defensive passing game coordinator and secondary coach Joe Whitt Jr. addressed reporters (prior to news of Kazee’s arrest breaking) and mentioned the former Falcon, who has started all six games in his first season as a Cowboy, recording 17 tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble so far.
“He has a history of making plays,” Whitt said in an answer that started with praise for Jayson Kearse’s leadership. “When you lead the league in interceptions in your past, that comes with a level of respect, and I just think the whole room, they do a good job of following each other and leading each other.”
Kazee was involved in the 75-yard touchdown pass from Patriots quarterback Mac Jones to Kendrick Bourne on Sunday. Cornerback Trevon Diggs took the blame for the blown coverage that allowed New England to re-take the lead late in the game, but most observers felt it was Kazee who had been out of position.
Quinn has since said there was no miscommunication on the play, adding, “I don’t think we could do it again if we tried.”
Head coach Mike McCarthy had just been asked on Monday if he had spoken to the players about staying out of trouble over the team’s bye, with no game to prepare for this week and no practices scheduled until after the weekend.
“Be safe, be smart? Yeah, we talked about it last week when I told them what the schedule was going to be,” McCarthy told media members. “Talked about the things- distractions- and what we don’t want. We have an outstanding season, 5-1, where we are. We want to make sure that everybody is taking care of themselves and want [them] to spend as much time as they can with family and friends and regenerate. They deserve it. They deserve this break, the length of it. I have a lot of confidence and a lot of trust in those guys.”
One has to believe a fair amount of that trust has just been lost.
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