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Former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs, who is serving more than three years in prison for a fatal 2021 DUI crash in Nevada, is training in case an NFL team calls him when he’s released, according to a former teammate.
Josh Jacobs, who played for the Raiders at the start of his career before signing with the Green Bay Packers, talked about Ruggs in a recent podcast interview.
Ruggs could be paroled by August 2026, according to Pro Football Talk.
“Keeping up with him and hearing him talk, it brings me spirits, because he’s always positive,” the running back said on “The Pivot Podcast.” “He’s positive about everything. He’s training. They let him train and things like that, so I’m like, ‘When you come out, man, I don’t know if you will get a chance.’
“I’ve been talking to some people for him. They’ve been saying a couple of teams are willing to give him a chance. I’m like, ‘When you get that chance, man, you better not ever — don’t look back, and prove to yourself and prove to everybody that one decision don’t define you and who you are as a man.’”
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Ruggs was sentenced to three-plus years in a Nevada prison for killing a woman in a fiery crash while he was driving his sports car drunk at speeds up to 156 mph. The collision also killed the victim’s dog and injured Ruggs’ fiancée. He apologized at his sentencing hearing. He pleaded guilty to felony DUI causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
Jacobs said he was supposed to join Ruggs on a Top Golf trip the night of the crash. He said he “instantly” got mad when he heard about the situation.
“And then when I start finding out more about the story and about how they were supposed to be racing, I’m like, ‘Who was he with?’ But he was with his family. So, I went to his house. I had some words with some people over there, and I’m just like, ‘Man, y’all got to understand, like, he the breadwinner of the family. He the one changing all of y’all’s lives everybody.’”
Jacobs said Ruggs is a “good kid” in a “very, very unfortunate situation.”
The Raiders selected Ruggs with the No. 12 pick of the 2020 draft. He played two seasons before the deadly crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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