Raiders’ Nate Hobbs arrested on DUI count at casino garage

By Case Keefer (contact)

Published Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 | 1:24 p.m.

Updated Monday, Jan. 3, 2022 | 2:54 p.m.

Metro Police arrested Raiders cornerback Nate Hobbs on a misdemeanor DUI count early today at a Las Vegas Strip casino.

Raiders coach Rich Bisaccia confirmed the rookie Hobbs was "involved in an incident" after the team arrived home from a victory in Indianapolis but offered no details.

Metro said a 911 dispatcher received a call at 4:09 a.m. reporting a driver asleep in a vehicle parked on the exit ramp of a casino parking garage in the 3500 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South. Hobbs failed a field sobriety test before he was taken to the Clark County Detention Center, police said.

Metro spokesman Officer Aden OcampoGomez said Hobbs was processed following his arrest. Jail records did not reflect whether Hobbs was still in custody by this afternoon.

Hobbs' attorneys, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, released a one-sentence statement questioning whether the arrest qualified as drunken driving. They declined additional comment.

Hobbs' arrest is the latest off-the-field incident for the Raiders in a season that’s been full of them, starting with a car crash Nov. 2 involving former wide receiver Henry Ruggs that took the life of a young woman. Ruggs is facing multiple charges, including DUI resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.

Another cornerback, Damon Arnette, was also released after brandishing weapons and voicing death threats in a social media video.

“As far as distractions go, we’ve kind of learned how to deal with distractions around here,” Bisaccia said via Zoom in his Monday news conference. “We’re certainly disappointed with the news. We don’t have all the facts yet.”

Hobbs, a 22-year-old out of the University of Illinois, was taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft and has emerged as arguably the Raiders’ best rookie. He’s served as the team’s starting nickel cornerback in all but two games, against the Browns three weeks ago when he tested positive for COVID-19 and the Broncos two weeks ago when he was still recovering from the virus.

Hobbs returned to full-time action Sunday against the Colts, registering four tackles and a quarterback hit in a game the Raiders had to win to reach the playoffs. They host the Chargers on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium and would reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a victory.

Whether they will be attempting to do it without one of their best defensive backs is up in the air, as Bisaccia said he would circle back on the situation later in the week. “I don’t have all the information on that,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.