Josh Huff On Arrest: ‘I Made A Terrible Decision’

Josh Huff. (Jeff Fusco)

After being arrested Tuesday morning for speeding, having tinted windows, possessing marijuana and having a gun not licensed in the state of New Jersey with hollow-point bullets, Josh Huff said he apologized to his teammates and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie on Wednesday for his behavior and being a distraction.

“I made a terrible decision yesterday,” Huff said. “I know that my actions come with consequences and I understand that and I own up to it. All I can do is take it a day at a time right now and that’s what I’m doing. My focus right now is on the Giants.”

Huff was stopped by police around 11 a.m. on the Walt Whitman Bridge for speeding, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Philadelphia magazine. After the officer noted “the odor of raw marijuana,” Huff handed over a white container with weed in it. Huff also told the cop he had a handgun in the driver’s side door pocket.

The Eagles’ receiver said he has a permit to carry in Texas, but not in New Jersey.

“I knew a little bit of (New Jersey gun laws), but obviously I didn’t know enough about it,” Huff said. “As a guy who carries, that’s on me. I should know things like that. But at the end of the day, I can’t do nothing about it now but move forward and try to fix it.

“How do I fix it? Just continue to be Josh Huff. I can’t let this define me, and it won’t define me. I’m gonna grow from this and I will learn from this.”

When asked why he has hollow-point bullets, Huff said it was for protection. He also explained he owns a gun because he feels his life “has been threatened” in the past.

“I’m a professional athlete. What professional athlete don’t have a gun?” Huff said. “I have a wife and I have a son at home. My job is to protect them at all costs, and my job is to protect myself as well. Even though I know I have security here [at the Eagles’ facility], I have to protect myself as well.

“I’m from Houston. You can’t trust a lot of people in Houston. There’s always somebody out to get you. You got to protect yourself. Even when I’m back in Houston, I always have a gun on me. There’s been several instances in Houston where I’ve lost a friend to gun violence. He was just in the wrong place in the wrong time, so why would I let that happen to me?”

According to Huff, the Eagles didn’t talk to the team about guns after Nigel Bradham was arrested for carrying a loaded weapon in airport security in October. Huff also said he did go into the NovaCare Complex Tuesday morning to watch game film, but he wasn’t driving directly from the Eagles’ facility when he was pulled over. He noted, too, that he has never has brought a gun into the locker room as he’s “not Gilbert Arenas.”

While Doug Pederson expressed his disappointment in Huff Wednesday morning, the 25-year-old noted his appreciation for the organization standing behind him.

“Obviously, it means a lot,” Huff said. “To know that this is your family away from home and to know that these guys believe in you and they trust you — I let a lot of these guys down yesterday by my actions. I can’t do nothing about that now but fix it, and that’s what I’m trying to do. That’s my main goal right now.”