Once a first-round draft pick who is serving time in California
In 2003 the Cleveland Browns were using a two-headed tight end in Steve Heiden and Darnell Sanders with Keith Heinrich on the bench. Heiden had 18 catches for 134 yards, Sanders 15 catches for 95 yards while Heinrich gathered eight receptions for 64 yards. The trio had four touchdowns combined.
Cleveland had the sixth overall pick in the first round in the 2004 NFL draft. Looking to upgrade the tight end position, the Browns had heavily scouted Kellen Winslow II from the University of Miami. As a sophomore, he had gained 726 yards, but more importantly, had scored eight touchdowns. As a junior, his stats diminished somewhat with 605 yards and a single score.
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At 6’-4” and a beefy 240 pounds, Winslow II was perceived as a pass-catching threat with great reach, which is what the Browns were missing in their offensive scheme. He won the John Mackey Award for the nation’s best collegiate tight end and was part of the National Championship squad of 2001.
Later in 2016, Winslow II would be inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum.
With the sixth pick, the Browns chose Winslow II ahead of QB Ben Roethlisberger, LB Jonathan Vilma, RB Steven Jackson, NT Vince Wilfork, OG Chris Snee, S Bob Sanders, and DE Jared Allen.
In his rookie year, he broke his leg. The following year he had a motorcycle accident which wiped clean the entire 2005 season. In 2006 he had 875 yards followed by his only excellent year of 2007 with 1,106 yards and five touchdowns which produced a Pro Bowl. A staph infection that Winslow II attempted to hide affected his 2008 season. In 2009, Cleveland gave up on him and traded him to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he signed a six-year deal worth $36 million, at the time the richest for any tight end.
He was then traded to the Seattle Seahawks, released, and signed with the New England Patriots where he played in one game and then released. He landed with the New York Jets where he was suspended for performance-enhancing substances, then off to the Green Bay Packers who never gave him a contract. Finally, Winslow II played in The Spring League in 2017 and also in 2018.
After his playing days were over, Winslow II, now 41 years old, began having legal issues. Lots of legal issues.
On March 3, 2021, Winslow II was sentenced to 14 years in prison after a plea was negotiated. As part of the deal, almost 25 years of potential sentence was negated. His sentence was for one count of rape and two counts of assault. He is currently incarcerated at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi.
Last week, Winslow II filed a petition citing previous trauma he suffered as reasons that his sentence should be reduced.
Legal problems
What Winslow II was sentenced for was just one of many tiffs with the law. Unfortunately for him, it was also the most serious.
He was convicted of numerous sex crimes against five women in San Diego County, California. These allegations included the rape of a homeless woman in 2018 and also another rape of a woman that was deemed unconscious.
This new petition, filed by defense attorney Patrick Morgan Ford, cites new California laws that would have changed the sentencing guidelines in his particular case, which according to the document, would lead to a more satisfactory sentence.
A portion of the petition explains:
“Petitioner (Winslow) is not asking to be released from prison at this time, but he does meet the criteria for relief under AB 124, given the trauma (brain damage) he received in his life of football, physical and sexual abuse he was subjected to as a child, and the impact of his debilitating motorcycle accident.”
Currently, Winslow II is not eligible for parole until September of 2028. As part of the plea agreement he accepted, he will automatically be on lifetime parole immediately upon release.
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Other portions of the petition suggest:
“(Winslow) asks this court to grant his writ and return the case to the trial court so that he may be sentenced in accordance with the new laws. He now presents his arguments (with facts not available originally) to this court by way of a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.”
This is in reference to a new California law that was enacted in 2021. The petition cites AB 124. The intent of this law is to assist criminal defendants who previously experienced “psychological, physical, or childhood trauma, including, but not limited to, abuse, neglect, exploitation, or sexual violence.”
According to Winslow II, he has suffered over 100 concussions while playing football, his 2005 motorcycle accident led to depression, and he was sexually abused by two family members during his childhood.
If AB 124 is a law that would help Winslow II, it does require the court to reduce the sentencing if the defendant has experienced such trauma. That is unless there are aggravating circumstances. The petition also argues that plea agreements are not insulated from legislative changes designed to lower sentences.
Winslow II’s wife Janelle filed for divorce in 2019. The couple had two children: son Jalen and daughter Juliana.
In the petition, Winslow II states:
“I am committed to being a productive person when released, and I will always feel remorse for what I did to the victims in my case. My goal was to become a better man and one day reunite with my wife, who stood by me for a long time, and my two children.”
Winslow II began his legal battles in 2013 while trying to remain on the Jets roster. He was suspended for four games for banned substances. While trying to make a comeback, in 2014 he was charged with drug possession. The end result of that charge was he got a conditional discharge without having to plead guilty.
Scripps Ranch HS grad and former NFL tight end Kellen Winslow II arrested again. And the charges are much worse than just burglary. Here’s the SD Sheriff Synopsis pic.twitter.com/PlMDO47KvG
— Troy Hirsch (@troyhirschfox5) June 14, 2018
Fast forward to 2018. He was arrested for and charged with first-degree burglary, a felony after leaving the scene of a trailer park. He was later charged with kidnapping and rape, among other charges. In 2019 Winslow II was again arrested, this time for lewd conduct, one count of willful cruelty to an elder, and one count of battery of an elder. Three months later, he was convicted of the rape charge plus the lewd conduct and indecent exposure.
In 2023, Winslow II filed another petition asking for a reduced sentence that was denied by a Superior Court judge. The document was submitted in handwriting as he did not have an attorney. This time around he is represented by counsel.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has declined to comment on Winslow II’s new petition. It’s not clear when the court will take up his case.