In what was among the most shocking draft-day slides in recent NFL history, former LSU running back Derrius Guice — considered by many to be a top-20 pick — fell to the Washington Redskins with pick No. 59 on Friday night.
Following that selection, reports surfaced that Guice’s fall was primarily due to what teams perceived to be maturity issues on the running back’s part. There were also reports floating about that Guice had an altercation while meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles prior to the draft (more on that here).
Well, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman just now indicated that there was no altercation during said meeting.
Howie Roseman: There was no “altercation” between the #Eagles and RB Derrius Guice. In Philadelphia or anywhere. Doug Pederson and Joe Douglas shook their heads, as well.
— Jeff McLane (@Jeff_McLane) April 28, 2018
This comes on the heels of Guice denying said allegations.
“It did surprise me because a lot of the things came out of nowhere and weren’t true,” Guice said on a conference call, via ESPN. “I just didn’t understand why me, out of all people, because I’m great to everybody. I have a great personality, and I just didn’t understand why everything just hit so hard with me out of everybody.”
Seen as a sure-fire first-round pick leading up to the 2018 NFL Draft, the past several weeks have been filled with rumor and innuendo surrounding Guice. At this point, no one really knows that to make of it.
What we do know is that Washington nabbed an elite on-field player with its second-round pick.