An NFL player is accused of being naked and fighting a cop near a South Florida daycare

An NFL defensive lineman was arrested Monday near a Deerfield Beach daycare and early childhood education center after, an arrest report says, he was walking naked near the school and fought with a Broward sheriff’s deputy.

Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell, 25, is charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and exposing his sex organs in public. McDowell’s bond was released after posting $27,000 bond.

McDowell is already on a three-year probation after pleading guilty in November 2019 to two counts of resisting an officer in Michigan’s Oakland County.

“We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information,” according to an emailed statement from the Browns. “We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time.”

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Did a defensive tackle rush the deputy?

According to the arrest affidavit, a BSO deputy went to 40 Fairway Dr. on Monday after getting a call about a naked man walking near a school, The Learning Experience. The deputy found McDowell sitting on the curb.

The deputy said as he approached, the six-foot-six, 290-pound McDowell “stood up, looked at me, and said something to the effect of ‘f--- you.’”

The deputy said McDowell, who makes his living as a defensive tackle with swift bursts of violence, rushed him “at full speed with closed fist” and rammed into him. One of McDowell’s punches clocked the deputy on the right eye and temple area, the affidavit said, leaving the deputy dazed and with a rapidly closing eye.

After shrugging off the deputy’s blows to the chest, the report says, McDowell ran. He was eventually tasered and handcuffed.

A security camera still grabbed by WPLG-Channel 10 on Tuesday shows McDowell in handcuffs on a curb.

“We’re investigating the circumstances surrounding everything,” said McDowell’s attorney, Adam Swickle.

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Gameless in Seattle

Before McDowell even showed up at rookie camp for the Seattle Seahawks, which chose him in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft out of Michigan State, he got into an ATV accident. Several arrests after that led to the Detroit native being sentenced to jail, then probation.

Seattle jettisoned him and Cleveland picked him up. McDowell told the Akron Beacon-Journal that head injuries suffered in the ATV accident contributed to his later criminally unruly behavior.

“Everybody don’t get a second chance,” McDowell told the Beacon-Journal. “That was just meaningful that the NFL and anybody is willing to give me of all people another chance. That’s just a blessing right there.”

This season with Cleveland, McDowell had three sacks and 30 tackles in 15 games.