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Browns 'deeply concerned' by allegations facing draft pick Caleb Brantley
— -- The Cleveland Browns made Caleb Brantley, the former Florida defensive tackle accused of simple battery this month, the first pick of the NFL draft's sixth round Saturday.?
Shortly afterward, Cleveland's head of football operations said the team may release him.
It made for a bizarre late-draft sequence for the Browns, who took Brantley with the 185th overall pick, only to have executive vice president Sashi Brown tell reporters later that the misdemeanor battery charge the ex-Gators player is facing is "very concerning."
According to a sworn complaint obtained by ESPN,?a woman told police that the 6-foot-2, 307-pound Brantley made crude comments toward her during an argument at a Gainesville, Florida, bar on April 13, and she then pushed him. The complaint said Brantley responded by "striking [her] in the face, knocking her unconscious."
The complaint said the woman, who is 5-foot-6 and 120 pounds, suffered dental injuries that "displaced a tooth and will require a root canal." The complaint also said Brantley's "use of force was clearly out of retaliation and not self-defense. Additionally, the intensity of [his] force far exceeded what was reasonable or necessary."
Brantley entered a not-guilty plea to the battery charge on Monday, according to Alachua County court records.?His attorney, Huntley Johnson, said they were offered a settlement by the woman's counsel but have declined.
Brown, in comments to reporters after his team drafted Brantley on Saturday, says Cleveland has told the player it may release him pending results of the case.?
Brantley was considered a potential first- or second-round pick before news of the charge was announced.?
He was a second team All-SEC pick last year after making 31 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
Information from ESPN's Pat McManamon was used in this report.
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