Jaguars DB Chris Claybrooks’ domestic assault case dropped

The Davidson County (Tenn.) District Attorney dropped two misdemeanor charges against Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Chris Claybrooks on Monday, according to court documents reviewed by TMZ.

Nashville police arrested Claybrooks a month ago after a woman accused him of hurting her hand and destroying her phone. The authorities charged him with domestic assault and vandalism. The Jags defender posted $2,500 in bail at the time. He had a court appearance scheduled for May 1.

According to an affidavit viewed by the Florida Times-Union, Claybrooks allegedly grabbed a woman’s cell phone and threw it to the ground.

The arrest affidavit stated that the incident happened in the parking lot of a movie theater.

The woman, who identified herself as Claybrooks’ ex-girlfriend, told police that she and Claybrooks argued in the parking lot after he showed up with another woman. She said she told Claybrooks’ date that she’d been with him the night before. The proof, she said, was on her phone.

She said that Claybrooks then grabbed the phone out of her hand and threw it to the ground. The impact destroyed the phone. The woman also showed police bruises and abrasions on her hand allegedly from the incident.

TMZ reached out to the prosecutor’s office and Claybrooks’ attorney for statements but has not received one yet to explain why the charges were dropped.

Claybrooks’ charges dropped ahead of OTAs

Claybrooks is headed into his fourth season in the NFL, and the last year of his rookie deal, with the Jaguars. So far, he has played in a mostly reserve role with Jacksonville. He’s appeared in 46 games with 81 tackles. On special teams, he has 22 returns, averaging 20.6 yards.

Claybrooks grew up in Nashville, Tenn. He went on to star for Memphis as a defensive back, although he started his college career as a receiver at Coahoma Community College. The Jaguars selected him in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The Jaguars wrapped up rookie minicamp on Saturday after welcoming in 10 faces in the 2023 NFL Draft class. Next on the schedule is OTAs, starting with the first practice on May 22. The NFL has a ‘No live contact’ rule until OTAs begin. They also can’t run offense vs. defense drills until that first practice on May 22. There are 10 OTA practice dates, with the last one on June 8 before mandatory minicamp on June 12.