LA Rams RB Tre Mason Arrested, S T.J. McDonald Pleads No Contest

The two major off-field incidents from the 2016 Los Angeles Rams’ offseason, the arrests of RB Tre Mason and S T.J. McDonald and Mason’s subsequent disappearance from team activities, have both resurfaced in the last 24 hours with updates.

RB Tre Mason arrested

Per the Palm Beach Post, Mason was arrested last night in response to a July 27 incident where he fled authorities on an ATV without any protective gear. He was charged with fleeing and eluding without regard for the safety of others and released on a $5,000 bond.

Mason did not appear at training camp when it broke just days after the ATV incident; he was placed on the Reserve/Did Not Report list to open camp. He remains under contract from his rookie deal through the 2017 season.

S T.J. McDonald pleads no contest

The OC Register’s Jack Wang reported last night that McDonald pleaded no contest to what is referred to as a “wet reckless” charge (officially a reckless driving with “a notation of alcohol or drug involvement”) as a result of his arrest in May on suspicion of DUI. The DUI charge was ultimately dismissed.

I’m not entirely clear on the threshold between what differentiates reckless driving with a notation of alcohol or drug involvement and driving under the influence of alcohol or drug involvement as those seem to be quite similar words in the English language, but lawyers do lawyer things and this seems to be one of those things.

Per Wang:

McDonald was sentenced to 36 months of probation, and is required to enroll in both a 30-day live-in drug program and a three-month alcohol and drug education and counseling program. He was also ordered to perform 200 hours of community service, but was given 16 hours of credit for his time spent in custody.

McDonald must pay a $1,914 fine, as well as restitution to the owner of the car he struck. The restitution amount will be determined during a hearing April 10.

McDonald has played through his rookie contract and is currently scheduled to be one of the Rams’ undrafted free agents in the 2017 offseason starting on March 9 per the 2017 NFL Calendar.