SEATTLE _ Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar had yet to turn himself in to police in Miramar, Fla., as of 3 p.m. EDT Friday, a day after a warrant was issued for his arrest on four counts of felony armed robbery.
Tania Rues, the public information officer for the Miramar PD, said that none of the alleged participants in the crime had as yet turned themselves in and would be given "a reasonable" amount of time to do so before other measures would be taken. She did not say what a specific time would be before the men would be sought.
But when Dunbar is eventually arrested, the questions will be far from over for the Seahawks about where things go from here.
Dunbar, 27, was acquired from Washington in what appeared to be one of the team's most-advantageous moves of the offseason, the Seahawks getting a potential Pro Bowl-caliber cornerback for a fifth-round pick.
The caveats were that Dunbar had played just 18 games the past two seasons due to injury and was entering the final year of his contract and was going to want to get paid big to stay _ a dispute over his contract was why he had been on the trading block in the first place (and reports out of Washington stated that no team offered more than the Seahawks).
Still, Seattle was exceedingly happy to have Dunbar in the fold for at least the 2020 season to hopefully improve a pass defense that was exposed throughout the 2019 season, the first in which not a single member of the famed Legion of Boom secondary suited up for the Seahawks since coach Pete Carroll arrived in 2010.
"I'm excited about this guy," Carroll said last month of the 6-2, 202-pound Dunbar. "He's a playmaker and we need depth at corner."
And while Dunbar had gone public with his frustration over his contact in Washington and first-year coach Ron Rivera signed off on trading him with the team in a rebuilding mode, Dunbar didn't have a reputation as a malcontent.
Dunbar was a receiver at Florida who had gone undrafted and then signed by Washington in 2015 and almost immediately moved to cornerback, making a quick transition to a new position. He progressed so quickly, in fact, that Washington signed him to a three-year, $10.5 million deal on Jan. 1, 2018, making him a centerpiece of their defense.
He became a fulltime starter the past two years and last season was rated by Pro Football Focus as the second-best in the league after Richard Sherman (though Dunbar played only 11 games and ended the season on injured reserve due to a hamstring issue).
A check of police records shows Dunbar has had more than 20 traffic violations over the last few years but no infractions of a more serious nature.
"He's not a problem," former Washington Husky standout Ray Horton, who was Dunbar's position coach last year, told the Seattle Times in March. "He's a joy to work with. He works hard, he pushes himself, and he pushes his teammates. But there's nothing wrong with that kind of a player. You want that kind of a player."
In that interview, Horton told the Times that Dunbar would remind Seattle fans of a young Richard Sherman.
"Because of the style of play, the hands, the anticipation, the former wide receiver, the competitiveness," Horton said. "Really, that's what you are getting is a young Richard Sherman. And this kid is hungry. He wants to be good."
In what became a really odd subplot to Thursday, Dunbar talked to media who cover the Seahawks in a Zoom video call Thursday morning. The call lasted roughly 14 minutes and Dunbar answered questions politely and amiably, talking enthusiastically of how it was nice to have been "wanted" by the Seahawks and how he hoped to repay the team in "the way I carry myself as a person and as a player."
Dunbar had already made a winning impression on some fans when he sang a few verses of "Let It Go," the song from Frozen, during an interview with 710 ESPN Seattle a few days after his trade, saying having to stay inside due to the coronavirus outbreak had led to some additional karaoke sessions with his 3-year-old daughter.
"I mean I have a beautiful daughter who's three years old, and outside of football that's what I enjoy doing," he said to 710 ESPN Seattle. "Being with her and being around her and creating those moments with her. So that's what I do best outside of football."
Those images obviously are at extreme odds with the portrayal of the armed robbery in the incident report issued from the Miramar Police Department, which painted the incident as a potential revenge robbery for losses suffered while gambling two days earlier.
Dunbar, New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker and a third unidentified man are accused of robbing men at a cookout of roughly $12,000 in cash and about $61,000 in watches. Baker is alleged to have waved a gun at one man and threatened to have another shot.
Three high-priced cars were parked outside that the police said a witness stated were positioned in a manner that suggested a quick getaway and that the robbery had been planned.
At dispute in the report is whether Dunbar had a gun _ three witnesses said he did not while another said he did.
Regardless, police said there was enough evidence to file charges for armed robbery, though he did not get the additional charge of aggravated assault with a weapon that was levied at Baker, who was a first-round pick of the Giants in 2019.
That Dunbar faces four first-degree felony counts means he could be facing stiff prison time, though deals can obviously be reached. But Florida law mandates a minimum 10-year sentence for a robbery with a gun. That no gun was fired, and that it's unclear whether Dunbar had a gun could mitigate things.
The Seahawks on Thursday said only that they were aware of the situation and deferring all comment to league investigators and authorities.
The NFL can hand down suspensions of its own independent of any legal action. The process for doing so under the league's Personal Conduct Policy was changed somewhat in the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.
But Dunbar and Baker would obviously be at risk of significant suspensions from the league whether or not they are convicted.
"It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime," reads a section of the league's personal conduct policy.
Dunbar's contract has a $3.421 million salary cap hit for the 2020 season, including $3.25 million in base salary.
None is guaranteed and the Seahawks would save $3.421 million against the cap if he is released either before or after June 1.
The Seahawks acquired Dunbar with the expectation he could take over the right cornerback slot manned the last two years by Tre Flowers, which might then free up Flowers to work in a different role _ or possibly, having Dunbar play the nickel in obvious passing situations when Flowers could come in the game to play on the outside.
That Seattle acquired Dunbar before the draft made him considered almost essentially as part of the draft class and the Seahawks did not take a corner as one of their eight picks.
If the Seahawks had to get rid of Dunbar then they could go back to Flowers, or they could pursue other free agent cornerbacks who remain available.
The most notable remaining free agent is Logan Ryan, who had four interceptions last year with the Titans.
Ryan had been reported as wanting at least $10 million a year, and one report this week suggested that the Jets were the front-runners for his services.
But the 29-year-old Ryan said Thursday in an interview on The NFL Network that he is "completely open for business" and still seeking offers.
As of Friday at noon, not much yet appeared certain other than that Dunbar and Barker were still wanted by the police.
