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Former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs has been imprisoned since 2023 for killing a woman he crashed into while drunk behind the wheel in Las Vegas. He’s eligible for parole next year, and while there may not be an NFL team willing to sign him if he’s released, he’s apparently doing what he can to gear up for a comeback while behind bars.
Henry Ruggs was a standout wide receiver at Alabama before the Raiders selected him with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he was in the midst of his second season with the team the following year when it all came crashing down due to his decision to get behind the wheel of his car while heavily intoxicated.
Ruggs was traveling at speeds of up to 156 MPH on the morning of November 2, 2021 when he slammed into the back of an SUV being driven by Tina Tintor, the 23-year-old woman who was trapped in the wreckage and burned to death along with the dog that was riding with her.
A blood test determined Ruggs was two times over the legal limit at the time of the crash, and the Raiders swiftly released the man who ultimately agreed to a plea deal where he pled guilty to driving under the influence resulting in death and vehicular manslaughter before being sentenced to between three to ten years in prison.
Ruggs is currently being detained in a transitional housing center reserved for inmates who are within a year-and-a-half of a potential parole date, and the first-time offender who is currently 26 years old could theoretically be released on August 6, 2025.
During a recent episode of The Pivot Podcast, Josh Jacobs, the Packers wide receiver who played with Ruggs at Alabama and on the Raiders, said he’s kept in touch with his former teammate behind bars while revealing he’s hoping to get a second chance in the NFL when he ends up being released.
Here’s what he had to say:
“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.'”
If Jacobs is to be believed, there are already some NFL franchises who are at least open to the possibility of welcoming Ruggs back into the fold, although it’s pretty obvious any team that decides to go that route is going to be signing up for a public relations headache.
You can easily argue Ruggs doesn’t deserve to be shunned for life after serving his time, and there are certainly plenty of other NFL players who’ve been allowed to play in the league after being implicated in similarly serious crimes.
History has shown many teams are more than happy to turn a blind eye if a player can produce on the field, but I can also understand why people would not be thrilled to see Ruggs back in an NFL uniform again after taking the life of another person because he hopped behind the wheel while hammered.