James Wilder Jr. arrested for driving with suspended license
Florida State Seminoles running back James Wilder Jr. (32) before the game against the Idaho Vandals. Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
Florida State Seminoles product James Wilder Jr. is one of those interesting third day running back prospects in the 2014 NFL Draft, and he and fellow FSU RB Devonta Freeman could be quality backs in a rotation as rookies. Freeman is ahead of the curve due to his ridiculously good pass blocking and ability to impact the game as a receiver out of the backfield, and Wilder Jr. lost carries to him and another talented ‘Noles back in Karlos Williams. Wilder Jr. will hope to separate from the pack in the NFL and latch on as a solid third day sleeper.
The Tampa Bay Times’s Greg Auman reported this morning that Wilder Jr. was arrested in Tampa last night “on an outstanding warrant related to a charge of driving with a suspended license”. Wilder Jr. was cited for the incident on the first of March, and it isn’t the first time he’s been cited for a license-related violation. Per Auman, this has happened to him “at least” three times in Tampa and once in Tallahassee, and he also notes that Wilder Jr. was arrested last year in February for resisting an officer without violence.
The running back’s bail is set at $1,000, and this isn’t a huge infraction. However, it undoubtedly does him more harm than good, and Wilder Jr. could go undrafted this year on the grounds of his play alone. He was a solid back in college, but the hard-nosed rusher lost carries in his own backfield and should just be looking to latch on somewhere. The Tampa native is the son of the Buccaneers career-leading rusher, and he recently visited the team. But with Doug Martin, Mike James, and Bobby Rainey, it might not be his best place to find carries and latch onto the roster. He’s been in trouble with the law multiple times, so this latest incident puts him in UDFA territory.