5 NFL players who were horrifyingly accused of sexual assault or rape ft. Matt Araiza and Julian Edelman

NFL players are often the focus of media attention for things they do in their personal lives. In addition to being some of the best athletes in the entire world, most of them are also extremely popular celebrities. It often becomes headline news when an NFL player does something good in the world, but even more so when they are a part of any type of scandal.

On the darker side of the scandals that some players have been involved in are accusations of sexual misconduct. Here are five NFL players who have been accused of these types of horrible crimes.

#1 - Matt Araiza

Buffalo Bills P Matt Araiza

Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza has been dealing with serious accusations in a developing story during the 2022 NFL offseason. He is currently facing a potential civil lawsuit that alleges he and two other former San Diego State players raped a minor.

Araiza is disputing the allegations, claiming that the information is false. He was recently held out of the Bills' final preseason game while the organization awaits further information.

#2 - Jameis Winston

New Orleans Saints QB Jameis Winston

An Uber driver accused Jameis Winston of sexual misconduct while he was still a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While a police report was never filed for the incident, she did formally file a complaint with Uber, which resulted in Winston being banned by the company from using any of their services moving forward.

Following an investigation conducted by the NFL, Winston was suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season for his involvement in the incident. While Winston denied the accusations, claiming the driver must have been mistaken about the specific details of the incident, he also accepted the punishment without an appeal and issued a formal apology to the Uber driver.

#3 - Deshaun Watson

Cleveland Browns QB Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson has been one of the biggest headlines of the 2022 offseason. He has been accused of sexual misconduct by many massage therapists during his time with the Houston Texans. While the case lacked sufficient evidence for Watson to be indicted on criminal charges, he faced a total of 24 civil lawsuits.

While most of the cases were settled out of court, and Deshaun Watson was never technically found guilty in a court of law of any of the allegations. However, the details of all of the accusations combined were a serious offense. He was initially suspended for six games, which the NFL appealed, before the two sides came to an agreement on an 11-game suspension at the start of the 2022 NFL season.

#4 - Ben Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger was accused of sexual assault by two different women in two completely separate cases. He faced potential criminal charges in both cases for the serious allegations, but was unable to be charged in either one of them.

Despite avoiding all legal charges, Ben Roethlisberger was still suspended for violating the league's personal conduct policy. The initial suspension was scheduled for six games at the start of the 2010 NFL season. It was later reduced to four games following an official appeal.

#5 - Julian Edelman

New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman

Julian Edelman was arrested in 2011 after being accused of sexual assault. He was initially scheduled to appear in court, where he could potentially be charged criminally, but the charges were dropped before it got to that point.

After a deep police investigation, it was ruled that there was not sufficient evidence to move forward legally with the accusations. There was apparent video evidence of the incident, which freed Edelman of the charges. He faced no suspension from the NFL.