Philadelphia Eagles Players Caught with Drugs

Player personnel problems at the outset of training camp continue for the Philadelphia Eagles as defensive end Juqua Parker was arrested early this morning in Lower Saucon Township for possession of a small amount of marijuana, police say.

Parker, 31, is listed as a starter at left defensive end.

Parker, a native of Houston whose home address is listed as Medford, N.J., was a passenger in a car stopped at 12:33 a.m. on North Mountain Drive at Route 378. He was arraigned and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $1,000 cash bail; a police report says he had only credit cards in his possession. A prison official confirmed he posted bail at 3:40 this morning. She did not know who brought him the cash.

Eagles guard Todd Herremans, 26, of Philadelphia, was driving the Ford Econoline van in which Parker was a passenger. Herremans was stopped for driving without headlights while southbound on Route 378 then making a left turn onto North Mountain Drive where signs are posted indicating left turns are prohibited, the police report says.

Lower Saucon Township police Chief Guy Lesser said the players were coming from an establishment along Route 378 in the township, but he would not identify it. He said a 21-year-old and 22-year-old woman were in the car as well. Parker is married and Herremans is single, according to team biographical information. Lesser said Herremans and Parker both were cooperative with police.

Read the police criminal complaint here.

Police detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from the stopped vehicle, the police report says. Police opened the rear passenger-side door then discovered a bag of vegetablelike matter presumed to be marijuana under Parker's seat. A water bottle containing a blunt was to the right of his seat, police said. Parker admitted both items belonged to him, according to police.

At training camp this morning at Lehigh University, head coach Andy Reid would not comment on Parker's arrest. Parker didn't participate in this morning's practice but had been excused under a team privilege that allows veteran players to skip some morning sessions. Both he and Herremans practiced in this afternoon's session, which started at 2:45 p.m.

"It's in the law's hands now," Reid said in the morning. When asked whether he is disappointed, the coach responded, "I want to wait and see what happens."

Reid later added, "I'm not going to judge it until I get all the information."

The coach said camp curfew is 1 a.m.

Nick Fierro, Eagles beat writer for The Express-Times, writes in his blog that he expects the incident to produce little fallout based on other players' experiences.

Juqua Parker

A nine-year NFL pro out of Oklahoma State University, Parker was signed by the Eagles in 2005 as an unrestricted free agent. He first played for the Tennessee Titans after signing as an undrafted free agent in 2001.

Parker recorded 76 tackles in 16 games last season, including five quarterback sacks. He also intercepted a pass and scored a touchdown. He has totaled 21 sacks in his career.

The Eagles learned earlier this week that they have lost starting middle linebacker Stewart Bradley for the season. Bradley tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Parker last year legally changed his name from Juqua Thomas, something his late father requested of him years ago, according to the Eagles Web site. "My father died in 2005, but before that he asked me to change my name to Parker," he said. "That was his last name. I just took a long time to get around to doing it. My dad wanted it this way and that's why I did it."

Parker was excused from practice this morning as part of head coach Andy Reid's policy of giving every third morning practice off for players 30 and over.