Bucs' Stevens faces drug charges after arrest in Tampa

Buccaneers TE Jerramy Stevens did not play against the Rams on Sunday after being arrested on drug charges Saturday night.

A Tampa police officer stopped Stevens' 2006 Ford pickup shortly after 7 p.m. at North Westshore Boulevard and West Cypress Street after hearing loud music coming from the truck, according to a Tampa Police Department news release. After smelling marijuana coming from inside, the officer searched the truck and found 38 grams of marijuana.

Stevens, 30, was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of marijuana, both felonies, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

He was released from jail shortly after midnight after posting $4,500 bail.

The Buccaneers shelved Stevens for Sunday's game, an 18-17 comeback win against the St. Louis Rams, after learning about his arrest.

"We're deeply disappointed by this news, we take such matters seriously," team spokesman Jonathan Grella said before the game. "We will address this matter with the seriousness it deserves.''Stevens sent text messages to TEs Kellen Winslow and John Gilmore before Sunday's game to encourage them to beat St. Louis.

"That situation right now that he's in, that's not our teammate, that's our brother," Gilmore said. "We went out there today to represent the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and he would not have wanted it any other way. "He hit me and Kellen up in the morning and told us to go out there and ball. He wasn't concerned with what he had going on. He was concerned about his team. That's just the type of guy he is."

This is not Stevens' first brush with the law.

Stevens was convicted of three counts of driving under the influence by a Scottsdale, Ariz., jury in 2007. Prior to Stevens' DUI, he had been involved in six other police incidents, plus a residential noise complaint, between 1998 and 2007.

Stevens' problems go back to high school and his days at the University of Washington. The most serious of those legal issues was an arrest for sexual assault in 2000. Prosecutors never filed formal charges because of a lack of evidence.

"Just to reiterate what Jonathan said, it was extremely disappointing news to hear last night,'' Bucs GM Mark Dominik said shortly before kickoff. "We'll deal with it as an organization (today).''