Henry Ruggs has not played in the NFL since being sentenced to three to 10 years in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed a Las Vegas woman and her dog, but questions about his future will soon begin surfacing.
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The former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver will be eligible for parole in August 2026. If granted, it will be up to the league to decide whether to suspend him.
The crash occurred in November 2021, midway through Ruggs' second season in the NFL. The former first-round draft pick was traveling at an estimated 156 mph when his Chevrolet Corvette Stingray collided with Tina Tintor's Toyota RAV4, which was traveling just over 43 mph.
The RAV4 traveled nearly 600 feet after the collision. According to the coroner's December 2021 report, Tintor and her dog Max died from thermal injuries.
Ruggs refused a field sobriety test after the crash, but a blood draw two hours later revealed his blood-alcohol content to be twice the legal limit in Nevada. He ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of DUI resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.
The Raiders cut Ruggs one day after the crash. He was later placed under house arrest with alcohol and location electronic monitoring devices, where he remained from May 2023 until his sentencing in August 2023.
With Ruggs becoming eligible for parole, his future will become a topic of discussion. NFL insider Albert Breer has already addressed the matter while writing that he believes we could see the former Raiders receiver in an NFL uniform again.
"At that point, he'll be 27 — and, at least on paper, he'd be in the heart of his athletic prime," Breer wrote for his column on "Sports Illustrated."
"It's unclear whether the NFL would suspend him. I checked in with the league office and was told the matter would be 'reviewed' ahead of reinstatement."
The longtime insider continued and said that if Ruggs could show that he had learned from his fatal mistake, teams would give him a second chance for two reasons.
The first of these reasons is speed. The former Alabama receiver posted a 4.27-second 40-yard dash during the NFL Scouting Combine and then he posted 921 receiving yards and four touchdowns in 20 games with the Raiders.
The other reason is reputation. Breer noted that the former first-round pick had a "really, really good" reputation off the field during his time at Alabama. This could provide the belief that he could rebuild his life after parole.
