Seattle Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar Has New Outlook After Armed-Robbery Allegations
It’s been a trying offseason for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar. Dunbar is prepping for his first season with the Seahawks after being acquired in a trade with the Washington Football Team. In May, he was arrested with New York Giants cornerback Deandre Baker after armed-robbery allegations while in Florida. Baker was charged and Dunbar wasn’t. Dunbar is taking advantage of his new lease on life after his scare.
Quinton Dunbar’s football career
Quinton Dunbar played his college football at Florida where he was a wide receiver. Dunbar played just one game in his freshman year in 2010 and wound up redshirting. He then played the next four years with the Gators, catching eight touchdown passes for 1,500 yards in his four seasons at Florida.
Dunbar went undrafted in 2015, but signed on with Washington. In the NFL, Dunbar was converted to a cornerback, and he played in 11 games during his rookie campaign. He collected one interception in 2015 and finished the season with 13 tackles.
Dunbar went on to play five seasons in Washington. He had his best season last year when he started all 11 games he played and finished with four interceptions and had 37 tackles. Dunbar was traded to the Seattle Seahawks for a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Dunbar arrested for alleged armed robbery
According to The Washington Post, Quinton Dunbar and 2019 New York Giants’ first-round pick Deandre Baker were issued arrest warrants in May after an incident at a party. Dunbar was facing four counts of armed robbery and Baker was facing four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, along with four counts of armed robbery.
According to a police affidavit, witnesses said Baker pulled out a gun and directed Dunbar and another man to take money and valuables from some of the party’s attendees. All three men left in separate cars after the alleged incident. On Friday, Aug. 7, the Broward State Attorney’s Office announced it was dropping the case against Dunbar but was still moving forward with the charges against Baker.
“We’re absolutely delighted that the Broward State Attorney’s Office came to the same conclusion we did: that Quinton Dunbar should never have been arrested,” defense lawyer Andrew Rier said, according to The Miami Herald. “We wish Mr. Dunbar the best of luck.”
Dunbar excited for a second chance
While the case is still ongoing, Quinton Dunbar couldn’t say much regarding the incident. He did say it was good to be back playing football after a couple of very long months. “I had a long few months, man,” he told Seahawks.com. “Just going through the situation I was going through, it was hard for me to do anything. So just getting back to training and running and trying to get back, it was everything to me.”
Dunbar did say the incident put a scare into him, knowing he could’ve been put away for a long time had he been involved and found guilty. “When you face armed robbery, that carries life in Florida, so that’s self-explanatory,” he said. “Growing up where I come from, it wasn’t nice. I’ve got to learn to protect my energy and protect my space. You can’t save or be around everybody, try to make everybody happy.”
Dunbar said he has never been in trouble and he knows who he is as a person. He said people may believe otherwise. “I had never been to jail, never been in trouble, never encountered the police for doing anything illegal,” he said. “Now all of a sudden, when I make it this far, with everything I grew up wanting, I just put it out there on the line for something silly like that. People are going to believe what they want, but I know who I am and what I stand for, that’s all that matters to me.”
