Things continue to spiral for former Michigan State football star Malik McDowell.
According to the Detroit News, McDowell will stand trial on Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court for allegedly operating a vehicle while intoxicated, assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest, and receiving and concealing a stolen car -- stemming from a pair of incidents in the last five months.
The first one occurred in February when McDowell was stopped by a Lathrup Village police officer for suspicion of drunken driving. He eventually exited his car and walked to a nearby gas station, where he got into a wrestling match with the officer. A second officer had to be called to the scene to subdue McDowell and take him into custody, according to police reports.
Assault/resisting arrest is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and fines. Operating while intoxicated is 93-day misdemeanor -- but the punishment could be worse for McDowell since has a prior drunken driving conviction on his record.
The second incident occurred in April when a stolen Ford F-150 Raptor pickup was tracked to a closed garage at McDowell's Southfield residence. When police arrived, McDowell allegedly claimed he had purchased the $74,000 vehicle for $3,000 off the street in Detroit. The pickup was originally lifted during a raid of a Ford Motor Co. overflow lot in Dearborn.
For receiving and concealing stolen property, McDowell faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
McDowell, 23, has been in a downward spiral since the Seahawks drafted him 35th overall in 2017. He got into a serious ATV accident that summer that kept him sidelined for the ensuing season, and he was arrested for disorderly conduct outside a bar in Atlanta later that year. He spent the 2018 season on injured reserve and was waived this offseason after he was unable to gain clearance from team doctors.
He's now being sued by the Seahawks who claim he has yet to return about $800,000 in bonus money from the four-year, $6.95 million contract he signed with the team in 2017.
The Cowboys brought McDowell in for a free agent visit earlier this offseason, but never made him an offer.
McDowell, a five-star recruit out of Southfield High in 2014, spent three seasons at Michigan State, including 2015 when the team made the College Football Playoff. He was second-team All-Big Ten in 2016 when he led the team in tackles for loss.
