NEWPORT, Ky. -- Bengals guard Eric Steinbach was arrested
and charged with boating under the influence on the Ohio River,
becoming the fifth Cincinnati player in three months accused of
breaking the law.
A Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources officer
stopped Steinbach because he was violating an idle-only zone
Saturday night, agency spokesman Mark Marraccini said.
Steinbach failed a series of field sobriety tests, Marraccini
said.
Steinbach was released from the Campbell County jail in Newport
after posting a $500 bond. He entered a not guilty plea Tuesday in
Campbell District Court, where Judge Karen Thomas scheduled a
pretrial hearing for Sept. 7 and a jury trial on Oct. 11.
The Bengals had the day off Sunday, their first free time since
they opened training camp in Georgetown, Ky. Steinbach practiced
with the team Monday and declined comment about the case.
Steinbach was a first alternate for the Pro Bowl last season,
when he started all 16 regular-season games and a playoff loss to
Pittsburgh. He was part of a line that allowed only 21 sacks, a
club record.
The Bengals generally do not comment on players' arrests.
The team has been on the defensive over the recent player
arrests and a suspension. Receiver Chris Henry leads the list, with
four arrests since December. He is to go on trial later this month
in Orlando, Fla., on a gun charge.
The Bengals drafted defensive end Frostee Rucker and linebacker
A.J. Nicholson in April despite their problems in college. Both
were arrested before they began negotiating contracts -- Rucker for
spousal battery, Nicholson for burglary and grand theft.
Cincinnati police used a stun gun on third-year defensive tackle
Matthias Askew last month and charged him with resisting arrest.
Middle linebacker Odell Thurman is suspended for the first four
games of the regular season for violating the NFL's substance abuse
policy.