Whether with the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Las Vegas Raiders, Henry Ruggs was starting to develop a reputation as one of the most explosive wide receivers in football when disaster struck.
Midway through his second NFL season, on Nov. 2, 2021, Ruggs was arrested for driving under the influence and causing an accident that ended the life of a 23-year-old woman and her dog. In May 2023, he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He was sentenced to 36-120 months in prison, and many assumed that was effectively the end of Ruggs’s football career.