Bucs safety facing marijuana possession charges

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rounded out an underwhelming season with a win Sunday, but T.J. Ward’s celebration with teammates was short-lived.

Tampa police officers arrested Ward, 31, on Wednesday morning on charges related to the possession of 99.9 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was released after posting his $2,500 bond Wednesday.

According to NFL.com, Tampa police responded to the home of the Bucs safety Oct. 25 due to an intrusion alarm and discovered the marijuana in two glass jars. The Tampa Bay Times reports the drugs were “in plain view,” and Ward admitted owning a grinder and that he had knowledge of the marijuana in the jars.

He also claimed the marijuana was medicinal and said it belonged another person, who was the only person in the home when police responded.

Josh Arnold, Ward’s agent, has responded to the charges with a written statement, NFL.com reports.

“We dispute the claims being reported, and T.J. adamantly denies these allegations. It was our understanding that the matter had been resolved in October, and my client was never arrested at that time.”

Arnold went on to say Ward was not notified of a court date for the charges and hopes to resolve the issue immediately.

Ward played a minimal role with the Bucs in the 2017 season, starting five games and earning just 30 tackles this season. He is due to become a free agent in March, NFL.com said.

This story was originally published January 3, 2018 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Bucs safety facing marijuana possession charges."