In the week leading up to the Super Bowl, there are literally dozens of news reports surrounding NFL players, whether they are playing in the game or not. Often, players visiting the host city will be asked about injuries they are rehabbing from, or upcoming contract situations, or even to plug one of their sponsors. It’s usually a good time for players to put their names out there. But for Darron Lee, the opposite seems to be true this year.

Lee, a first-round draft pick by the New York Jets in 2016, is in the news for one of the worst reasons imaginable, after he was arrested and charged with the murder of his girlfriend on Friday. Tampering with evidence charges were also added to the indictment.

On Thursday, law enforcement officials were dispatched to a residence in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they discovered the body of a woman. Lee was quickly named as a suspect in the homicide of the woman and was taken into custody before being charged with murder in the first degree. February 11th has been set as a court date for Lee.

Lee, who last appeared in an NFL game in 2020, played 58 games for three different teams in his career, 40 of them with the Jets. His time with the team was marked by indifferent play and disciplinary issues, with Lee suspended by Jets coach Todd Bowles for being late to practice, in addition to receiving several fines for unnecessary roughness and late hits. Lee was also suspended twice by the NFL, once for taking PEDs and the other for reasons never revealed. The Jets traded him to the Chiefs before the 2019 season, after which the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, although Lee took no part in the game. He played two games for the Bills in 2020, but they were the last games of his career.

Sadly, this arrest is not the only run-in with the law Lee has had since leaving the NFL. He was arrested in 2023 for assault and domestic violence, with the arrest report stating Lee pushed a woman against a wall, threw her to the floor, and hit her face and head eight to nine times with his closed fists.