Raiders rookie cornerback arrested on DUI charge

Rookie cornerback Nate Hobbs was arrested early Monday morning in Las Vegas on suspicion of driving while impaired.

“As far as distractions go, we’ve kind of learned how to deal with distractions around here,” a visibly upset Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia said Monday afternoon upon learning the news.

In a season for which some monumentally big moments have been overshadowed by a string of off-field incidents, Bisaccia and his team are getting all-too-familiar with balancing the good with the bad.

The arrest came a few hours after the Raiders (9-7) landed back home from Indianapolis, where they had just beaten the Colts 23-20 in their biggest win of the season.

According to Las Vegas police, at 4:09 a.m. Monday, officers were called to a report of a “driver asleep inside of a vehicle” that was parked on an exit ramp of a parking garage on the 3500 block of Las Vegas Boulevard South.

Upon making contact, officers identified the driver as Hobbs, the Raiders’ 22-year-old standout defensive back. Hobbs was given field sobriety tests and failed, police said.

He was later booked at the Clark County Detention Center, then released. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, and his status for Sunday’s win-or-go-home game against the Los Angeles Chargers is not clear.

“Certainly we’re disappointed on the news,” Bisaccia said. “I don’t have all the facts yet. I’ll be able to comment, I would think, at the end of the week when I get more information about what exactly happened.”

The former Illinois standout is being represented by prominent Las Vegas attorneys David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, who issued a statement Monday on behalf of Hobbs, urging the public not to jump to conclusions regarding the police allegations.

“The facts and circumstances related by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department to the news media leave serious concerns that this does not qualify as a DUI under Nevada law,” the statement said.

In a mid-afternoon statement issued by the Raiders, the club said: “The Raiders are aware of the incident involving Nate Hobbs. The organization has been in communication with local law enforcement and is in the process of gathering more information. We will have no further comment at this time.”

The news was especially troubling for Bisaccia and the Raiders given the incident earlier this season when former Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs was criminally charged after a pre-dawn Nov. 2 crash that killed 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her dog, Max, in the southwest valley. The tragic incident is a constant reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving, and the importance of being responsible.

It is also one of a handful of off-field dramas the Raiders have had to deal with this year, including the sudden resignation of coach Jon Gruden after a series of disparaging emails he sent became public, and the release of cornerback Damon Arnette after a video surfaced of him brandishing a gun and threatening someone.

Now comes the Hobbs arrest, just six days before the Raiders play the Chargers for the right to go to the playoffs.

A previous version of this story misstated Hobbs’ age.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on Twitter. Review-Journal reporter Glenn Puit contributed to this report.