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On Saturday afternoon various news outlets reported that Atlanta Falcons linebacker Barkevious Mingo was arrested in Texas on Thursday night on a charge of “Indecency with a Child—Sexual Contact.” According to NBC-5 TV Dallas Fort-Worth, Mingo, 30, has been charged with one count of the above-named charge in connection with an Arlington Police Department investigation.
Per Pro Football Talk (PFT), Mingo has since posted $25,000 bond and has been released, this according to court records in Tarrant County, Texas. The Falcons also provided a statement to PFT:
“Our organization became aware of the allegations involving Barkevious Mingo today and are currently gathering information on this incident. The Falcons take the allegations very seriously and will continue to monitor the situation,” the team said.
According to Michael J. Babcock, executive producer for TMZ Sports, the charge in question is a 2nd degree felony and “Could carry a 20 year prison sentence, if convicted.”
Shortly after the news of Mingo’s arrest came to light, his attorney, Lukas Garcia, provided a statement to Ian Rapoport, National Insider for NFL Network, that called the allegations “completely baseless.”
Per Rapoport, the statement says: “The allegations out of Tarrant County against my client are completely baseless. Barkevious Mingo is innocent. At this stage, our side has very limited information. What we do know is these allegations are from over two years ago and are completely untrue. Mr. Mingo is the victim of a false claim, and we believe this is motivated by money or some other ulterior motive. We are confident when the truth comes to light, my client will be fully exonerated.”
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Barkevious Mingo’s NFL Career Began with the Browns
Mingo was selected No. 6 overall by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He appeared in 46 games (with 16 starts) for the Browns over three seasons and has bounced around the league ever since, having played for the New England Patriots (2016), Indianapolis Colts (2017), Seattle Seahawks (2018), Houston Texans (2019) and Chicago Bears (2020).
All told, he has played in 126 games with 40 starts, during which time he has amassed 255 career tackles, with 12.5 sacks, 27 tackles for loss and 38 quarterback hits, plus one interception, five forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries. He was part of the Patriots team that defeated the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, the only championship season of his professional career.
Prior to entering the NFL, Mingo starred at LSU, where he was named second-team All-SEC in multiple seasons.
Barkevious Mingo’s Falcons Contract
In March, the Falcons signed Mingo to a one-year contract in an effort to add experienced depth on the edge, while also providing relatively inexpensive pass rush help. He is part of a position group that also includes Dante Fowler Jr., Jacob Tuioti-Mariner and Steven Means, plus rookies Adetokunbo Ogundeji and Kobe Jones, as well as former undrafted free agent Shareef Miller, the latter of whom was signed less than a month ago.
Per overthecap.com, Mingo received a $175,000 signing bonus and is scheduled to earn a base salary of $1,075,000, with $925,000 of that amount guaranteed. His 2021 salary cap number is $1,250,000; if he is released it would trigger a dead money cap charge of $1.1 million and would save the team just $150,000, unless the team can void the guaranteed salary.
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