Derrick Shelby, the defensive lineman who was suspended by the Dolphins last week after he was arrested, is now back with the team.
A league source tells PFT that Shelby was reinstated by the Dolphins.
After Shelby was booked for trespassing and resisting arrest, the Dolphins acted quickly by suspending him. But personal-conduct violations are supposed to be handled at the league level, not the team level. It wouldn’t be surprising if the NFL Players Association raised concerns behind the scenes about whether Shelby was being treated fairly -- especially considering that Shelby has a very different story about what happened than the police have put forward, and Shelby hasn’t had his day in court.
The NFL is currently trying to get a handle on how to deal with allegations of off-field misconduct, and two players, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy, are currently on the commissioner’s exempt list while they face criminal charges. But Shelby’s situation wasn’t quite the same as Peterson’s and Hardy’s, and after initially sending Shelby away, the Dolphins have apparently decided that he can be an active member of the team while his legal situation plays out.