Three Cleveland Players Face Charges

Top draft pick Gerard Warren was one of three Cleveland Brown players arrested and charged Tuesday in separate cases in two cities.

Warren, the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s NFL draft, was arrested in Pittsburgh for carrying an unlicensed firearm, which is a felony in Pennsylvania.

Fullback Mike Sellers was charged with felony drug possession after being arrested along with teammate Lamar Chapman after a Monday night traffic stop in Cleveland.

Warren, a rookie defensive tackle, who earlier this season was fined $35,000 by the NFL for a vicious hit on Jacksonville quarterback Mark Brunell, was arraigned and released after posting bond. Warren is due in court Nov. 30.

Police were questioning a passenger in Warren’s Chevy Suburban outside a Pittsburgh nightclub at 2:35 a.m. when they spotted an empty gun holster on the floor.

According to the police report, a passenger told officers there was a .45 Glock handgun locked in a console in the vehicle. After towing and searching the vehicle, police found the gun.

Warren said his brother, Corey, a Florida policeman, had bought him the gun. Police said Warren was able to produce documents showing that he owned the gun, but he had not yet obtained a license to carry it.

Sellers and Chapman are also facing a misdemeanor charge of using a vehicle to solicit drugs, a Cleveland court spokesman said.

Chapman was not charged with the felony, but other charges are possible against both players, authorities said.

Sellers, in his first season with the Browns, is scheduled to appear in court this morning.

Sellers was speeding and swerving in his pickup truck when he was stopped. Officers found two bags of marijuana in the glove box and a dollar bill containing a white powder suspected of being cocaine was found in a patrol car after the players were taken to the police station, the police report said.

New England Coach Bill Belichick said Tom Brady will start at quarterback for the remainder of the season, even though Drew Bledsoe has recovered from a chest injury.

Brady has started the last eight games in place of Bledsoe, who suffered bleeding in his chest when he was hit by the New York Jets’ Mo Lewis in Week 2. Bledsoe was cleared by team doctors to return for Sunday’s loss to St. Louis, but Belichick chose to stay with Brady.

Bledsoe clearly was frustrated by Belichick’s decision, refusing to answer questions from reporters.

Indianapolis put receiver Jerome Pathon on injured reserve, ending his season. Pathon will undergo surgery to repair a damaged ligament in his right foot.... Baltimore defensive end Michael McCrary will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery on a knee.... Detroit put starting strong safety Ron Rice on the injured reserve list because of a neck and back injury, ending his season.... Green Bay safety Chris Akins was fined a game’s pay, $21,611, after a sideline outburst Sunday against Atlanta in which he yelled at Coach Mike Sherman and threw his helmet after being pulled from the game following a personal foul in the fourth quarter.