Just hours after it was announced that former Eagles linebacker Mychal Kenricks is facing federal insider trading charges (see story), he's out of a job.
His new team, the Cleveland Browns, released Kendricks on Wednesday night in the wake of the charges, which allege Kendricks netted nearly $1.2 million from inside trading in 2014 and 2015.
That means Kendricks has been released twice in just a few months. But now his future in the NFL - and possibly his future as a free man - hang in the balance.
Browns GM John Dorsey released the following statement on Wednesday night:
Prior to signing Mychal, we were informed that there was a financial situation that he had been involved with in 2014. We were told Mychal had fully cooperated with investigators as a victim. From what was communicated at that time and based on the numerous questions we asked and further due diligence on our part, including checking with the league office, there was no information discovered that conveyed otherwise.
Recently, we were provided an update on the matter and the circumstances have changed. We are now dealing with a different set of facts and the additional information we've gathered has led us to the decision to release Mychal from our team. Due to the ongoing legal nature of this situation, we will have no further comments.
Based on that statement, we're led to believe the Browns thought Kendricks was simply a victim in the situation, but that is far from the reality. On Wednesday, Kendricks even admitted his guilt in the matter and is expected to plead guilty to charges.
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In a statement from Kendricks earlier in the day, he admitted willful wrongdoing, saying, "While I didn't fully understand all of the details of the illegal trades, I knew it was wrong, and I wholeheartedly regret my actions.
After spending the first six years of his career in Philadelphia, Kendricks lasted less than three months in Cleveland before Wednesday's news broke.
