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Gregg Bell: Ex-Seahawk Chad Wheeler pleads not guilty to felony domestic violence

News Tribune - 2/1/2021

Feb. 1—Former Seahawks backup offensive lineman Chad Wheeler pleaded not guilty Monday to felony charges of domestic-violence assault and domestic-violence unlawful imprisonment plus a charge of resisting arrest, a spokesman for the King County prosecuting attorney's office told The News Tribune.

Wheeler entered his pleas at his arraignment Monday morning at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

His trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.April 6.

The presiding judge kept Wheeler's bail at $400,000. Wheeler has been out on bond since Jan. 26, three days after he was jailed for allegedly attacking and strangling his girlfriend inside an apartment in Kent.

The judge refused to grant Wheeler his request to return to his offseason home in Hawaii. He ordered the 27-year-old tackle to remain in Washington and under electronic monitoring.

The Seahawks released an extraordinary statement Wednesday to "strongly condemn" Wheeler and to emphasize they had cut ties with him. The team let his contract expire at the end of the 2020, during which he played in five games.

To reinforce they are done with him, the Seahawks placed Wheeler on league waivers. That absolves the team of even the option to not tender a restricted free-agent contract offer to him, which Seattle wasn't going to do, anyway.

He went unclaimed on NFL waivers last week. He is thus a free agent, out of the league, at least for now. The NFL has the right to suspend him under the league's personal-conduct policy and will investigate whether to do so.

This story will be updated.

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