The New England Patriots released wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell
Jaire Alexander Jersey , who has been hampered by nagging knee injuries, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.Patriots have released WR Malcolm Mitchell. Really flashed as a rookie but has battled injury problems— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) August 6, 2018Drafted in the fourth round by the Patriots in 2016, Mitchell had a solid rookie season, where he caught 32 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns. Mitchell also made a handful of big catches in Super Bowl 52 against the Atlanta Falcons, helping the team erase a 28-3 deficit before winning in overtime. In total, Mitchell finished that game with five catches for 70 yards.However, a knee injury forced Mitchell to miss the entire 2017 season, and it seems like the Patriots just weren't willing to wait around any longer for it to heal. Now on waivers, Mitchell will become a free agent if nobody claims her, per Field Yates of ESPN.The Patriots wide receiver depth chart continues to undergo more massive makeovers. Top wideout Brandin Cooks was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in the offseason, while Danny Amendola signed with the Miami Dolphins for two years. Meanwhile
Rashaad Penny Seahawks Jersey , Julian Edelman received a four-game suspension after failing a drug test.But with Edelman now 32 years of age and coming off a torn ACL, there's cause for concern if he'll be ready for the season when he's eligible to return in Week 5. The聽only other veteran receivers on the Patriots roster include Cordarrelle Pattterson, Kenny Britt, Phillip Dorsett and Eric Decker. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a knack for being able to replace departed talent just fine, and they have plenty of guys who can step up and fill in for Mitchell. Given his young age and strong showing in the 2016 postseason, Mitchell shouldn't have any problems finding a job.For now, the goal for Mitchell is to recover from the knee injury and get fully healthy before the 2018 season comes to an end. An Indiana prosecutor blasted President Donald Trump on Wednesday for politicizing the case of an immigrant illegally living in the U.S. and charged in a drunken crash that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and another man, saying his and others’ comments were ”ghoulish and inappropriate.”
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said his office would ”vigorously prosecute” the case regardless of the suspect’s immigration status. Curry criticized Trump and others who cited the case as part of the nation’s immigration debate, noting that ”two innocent men lost their lives in this horrible incident.”
Curry filed felony charges earlier in the day against the suspect, Manuel Orrego-Savala, a citizen of Guatemala who has twice been deported from the U.S. Orrego-Savala is accused of driving the pickup truck that hit Jackson and his Uber driver, 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe
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”We are disheartened that ghoulish and inappropriate public commentary has politicized this tragedy,” Curry, a Democrat, said in a statement. ”Much of such commentary, including tweets by the president, fails to acknowledge that both Edwin Jackson and Jeffrey Monroe lost their lives on Sunday. We will simply seek justice on behalf of the families of those two victims.”
Trump drew added attention to the case on Twitter, calling the highway collision ”disgraceful,” and prodded Democrats to work with him on illegal immigration and border security.
Orrego-Savala is charged with two counts each of causing death while driving intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. The two more serious counts each carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The 37-year-old said little during his initial court hearing Wednesday, responding through an interpreter as a judge explained the proceedings and charges. The judge set his bond at $200,000 after entering a not guilty plea on his behalf.
Investigators said Orrego-Savala was living illegally in the U.S. at the time of Sunday’s crash. Late Tuesday, he was charged by federal prosecutors with illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. He faces up to 10 years in prison in that case, which would be handled after any state charges are resolved.
His defense attorney
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Torres said his client has been living and doing construction work in the Indianapolis area for several years.
”He’s very distraught to say the least,” Torres said. ”He’s very confused.”
Jackson’s family planned no response to Trump’s tweets about the crash and the suspect’s immigration status, according to a family spokesman.
”We’ll let the politicians do the politics while the family is just going to grieve and circle the wagons and try to heal from this tragic situation,” Atlanta attorney Daniel Meachum said Tuesday. ”The family is in shock, as you can imagine.”
Prosecutors allege Orrego-Savala was driving the vehicle that crashed into Jackson and Monroe as the two men stood outside Monroe’s car early Sunday along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. Monroe was transporting Jackson for Uber, the ride-sharing service, and had pulled over after the 26-year-old football player became ill, investigators said.
Orrego-Savala was arrested shortly after the crash. A blood test conducted at a hospital determined he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent, more than double Indiana’s legal limit for driving, according to court documents.
Orrego-Savala was deported in 2007 and again in 2009. In 2005, he was convicted for driving under the influence in Redwood City
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In the 2005 case, he pleaded no contest to two separate drunken-driving offenses and was given a brief jail sentence, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Orrego-Savala remained jailed Wednesday in Indianapolis. Federal and county prosecutors spelled his last name as ”Orrego-Zavala” in charging documents, but his attorney said his name is spelled Orrego-Savala, a spelling that’s listed among his aliases in the federal documents.
Prosecutors filed a motion seeking a DNA sample from Orrego-Savala, arguing it could help determine whether he was in the truck that hit Jackson and Monroe. Prosecutors also said the sample would confirm his identity, noting his various aliases.
When Orrego-Savala appeared Tuesday before a judge who advised him of his rights, he told the judge through an interpreter: ”I wasn’t driving the car. I don’t know why I am here,” Indianapolis television station WRTV reported.
A police news release did not mention the presence of anyone else in the pickup truck.
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Associated Press writer Tom Davies contributed to this report from Indianapolis.
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