DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Isaiah Bond won't be charged, says he's signing with Browns

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id...-bond-no-longer-faces-charges-agent-says

The sexual assault case against former Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond has been no-billed and he faces no further criminal charges, Collin County (Texas) District Attorney Greg Willis said Thursday.

"After reviewing all the evidence presented, a Collin County grand jury returned a 'no bill' in the sexual assault charge involving Isaiah Bond, meaning no indictment will be issued," Willis said in a statement. "This concludes the criminal proceedings in this matter."

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Shortly after news of the case being closed broke, Bond posted a statement on Instagram indicating he plans to sign with the Cleveland Browns.

Bond thanked the Browns "for believing in me" and said he was "grateful for the decision of the prosecutor and the courts not to pursue charges."

He added: "I'm determined to prove the Browns organization and everyone who believes in me right for putting their trust in me."


Sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter, however, that no deal between Bond and the Browns has been finalized.

Bond was arrested in April on an outstanding sexual assault warrant and was released from the Collin County jail after posting bail of $25,000. After he was released from jail, Bond went on social media and said the accusation against him was "patently false."

He subsequently sued the woman who accused him, with his lawyers saying the sexual encounter was consensual. The lawsuit, which included a defamation claim, was dismissed with prejudice last month by the U.S. District Court in North Texas.

Bond was a highly touted prospect entering this year's NFL draft but proceeded to go undrafted following his arrest.

In his lone season at Texas in 2024, Bond caught 34 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns. He spent his first two seasons at Alabama, catching 65 passes for 888 yards and five touchdowns.

This is excellent too (he isn’t officially signed yet)!

Some basic info on him.

NFL.com before the draft info

HEIGHT
5’ 11’’ (Tall enough to play QB )

40-Yard Dash
4.39
Seconds

Overview
Fluid, fast and untapped. Bond played decoy for the betterment of Texas’ offense but clearly has the talent to take on a more focused, productive role. He’s a capable route-runner, has good hands and can play wide or from the slot. An offense should feed him a heavier diet of shallow crossers, deep digs and quick-game throws, allowing him to make magic with the ball in his hands and add to their chunk play total. He’s tough but can struggle on combat catches and against contact-oriented coverage. Bond is an explosive athlete with above-average skill. He simply needs more targets to reach his potential. He’s well-suited to the NFL game and could become a very good pro within his first three seasons.

Strengths
- High school state sprint champ with elite top-end speed.
- Can factor in on all three levels.
- Able to eat into cushion almost immediately off the snap.
- Draws attention to clear out coverage for teammates.
- Has hips and agility to snap routes off tightly to separate.
- Natural hands with willingness to catch in traffic.
- Running back’s elusiveness in the open field.
- Instant acceleration in his change of direction.


Weaknesses
- Made just 99 catches over his three seasons.
- Only one game with more than 100 yards in his career.
- Had trouble eluding physical press from Georgia.
- Could benefit from speed variances inside his route.
- Can be overwhelmed by size when contested.

Sources Tell Us

“I love his speed and the way he opens up coverages, but if you take him, you have to get him the ball more than Texas did. He’s special as a runner.” – NFC personnel director

[img]https://www.nfl.com/prospects/isaiah-bond/3200424f-4e16-8854-5500-4fcd95690bde[/img]

This could be a major pick up.

This could be good. Real good.

Agreed.

- Judkins
- Possibly signing Bond
- NCAA announcing the Michigan punishments tomorrow

It’s like Christmas

I’m hoping there’s a JOK “woke up today magically cured of his neck problems” gift still under the tree

Until he proves otherwise, he’s just another punk who can run fast

This is a good signing. Bond can play. Browns Offensive Coordinator is familiar with him also after coaching him at Alabama. Auburn is still trying to figure out how he got open and caught the 4th and 31 hail Mary from Milroe to win that game.

Could be a big break for us. He was a standout collegiate guy.

j/c...

From Dane Brugler pre-draft.

BACKGROUND: Isaiah Bond was raised in Harris County, Ga., by his parents. He grew up playing every sport he could, including baseball, basketball
and football, although track was his best sport early on. While in third grade at New Mountain Hill Elementary School, Bond competed for the West
Georgia Jets and won three gold medals at the 2012 USA Track and Field Junior Olympics in Fayetteville, Ga. He clocked the nation's best time in
the 200 meters (30.38 second) in the 8-year-old division and qualified for the Region 3 Junior Olympics in Virginia. Bond played primarily at
running back and safety throughout Pop Warner for the Wildcats. He later transferred to Mill Creek (in the northern Atlanta suburbs) for middle
school and made the switch to wide receiver in eighth grade. Bond continued running track through middle school, although he chose football over
opportunities to qualify for Junior Olympic trials.

Bond decided to enroll at Buford High in Gwinnett County, one of the top football programs in Georgia. After starting on the freshman and JV
teams, he moved up to varsity as a sophomore and played both ways as a cornerback, wide receiver and running back, helping the program to the
2019 6A state title. As a junior, Bond led the team to a 13-1 finish and another 6A state championship. As a senior in 2021, Bond earned all-state
and All-America honors with 11 touchdowns, including a kick return touchdown, and helped Buford to a third straight 6A state championship. Bond
was also a record-setting track athlete at Buford — he won multiple 6A state championships in both the 100 and 200 meters, and he ran the
second leg of Buford's state title-winning 4x100 relay. He was nationally ranked and finished with personal bests of 10.48 seconds in the 100
meters and 21.04 in the 200.

A four-star recruit, Bond was the second-ranked athlete (behind Malaki Starks) in the 2022 recruiting class and the No. 6 recruit in Georgia. He was
ranked as the No. 52 recruit nationally. The spring after his freshman season, Bond picked up his first scholarship offer from Nebraska (May 2019).
He was recruited as a cornerback by some schools and a receiver by others. His recruitment started to take off following his junior season, including offers from Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas and Wisconsin. Bond added an offer from Florida, and after a visit toGainesville, he committed in May 2021.

However, after Florida fired head coach Dan Mullen during the 2021 season, Bond reopened his recruitment. Ultimately, he focused on three
schools (Alabama, Florida, Georgia) and signed with head coach Nick Saban and the Tide. He was the fourth-ranked recruit in Alabama's 2022
class. After Saban's retirement following the 2023 season, Bond entered the transfer portal and reconnected with Steve Sarkisian at Texas for the
2024 season. He elected to skip his senior year and enter the NFL Draft.

STRENGTHS:
● Vertical stretch receiver who can use his speed to affect the game, even when he's not the target
● Always had the wheels and chose football over a track career (had nation's best track times as early as 8 years old)
● Electric suddenness to beat press with his feet
● Dynamic change of direction to create serious separation off plant foot (blaze outs, daggers, etc.)
● Shows a basic understanding of vertical pacing to set up hitches or double moves (his favorite route is the slot post)
● Tracks the ball well and put some impressive diving catches on tape
● Effective on screens and gadgets because of speed bursts, which create botched pursuit angles
● Lives beyond the sticks (76.5 percent of his 2024 catches resulted in a first down or touchdown

WEAKNESSES:
● Shorter with an average frame
● Only two drops in 2024 but doesn't show consistent confidence in his hands
● Disrupts his sightlines by unnecessarily jumping for targets to reach his chest
● Unreliable through contact — you can count his contested catches (for his career) on one hand
● Struggled adjusting to deep ball when it wasn't on point (caught only two of 14 targets of more than 20 yards in 2024)
● Not much of a tackle-breaker once defenders get hands on him
● Didn't play on special teams at Texas and lacks extensive return experience
● Missed two games (and parts of others) as junior because of right ankle injury (Oct. 2024), which lingered throughout the season

SUMMARY: A one-year starter at Texas, Bond was an inside-outside wide receiver in head coach Steve Sarkisian's RPO pro-style spread offense
and was used across the formation (76.8 percent of snaps wide, 22.6 percent slot). He teased playmaking talent in his two seasons at Alabama,
including making the catch on Jalen Milroe's fourth-down game-winner against Auburn). He was expected to become Texas' No. 1 target after
transferring for the 2024 season, but Bond's ankle injury and inconsistent chemistry within the offense hampered him, especially over the second
half of the season.

A former track star, Bond is a loose, twitchy athlete with big-time speed, which makes him a threat to make a house call every time he touches the
ball. Aside from staying healthy, he needs to improve the discipline and rhythm of his routes and break bad habits at the catch point, although he
might never have the play strength to win contested targets. Overall, Bond has unquestioned athletic talent and upside, but he will need to prove
to be more reliable within the structure of an offense for an NFL coaching staff to trust him. There is a boom-or-bust element to his projection but the "boom" will be pretty appealing come Day 2.

Grade: 3rd Round (no. 88 overall)

Lol, Slippin' Jimmy tossing out the ol' "due diligence" chestnut.

Courtesy of Bond...

What is with the Browns and Criminals or at least guys accused of Criminal acts LOL Geez

He was pretty well thought of, I read some had him as a Low 1st to mid 2nd round pick last draft.. So, hey, it might just be a good thing

Reading the draft summary, he struck me as a slightly-more-complete Anthony Schwartz... and one where we didn't burn a draft pick in getting.

I'm NOT thrilled that we're still so confident in picking up cheap talent as it's exiting a court room.


In terms of on the field, I think I'm most intrigued by the type of speed he has (short-burst type speed with some capable route-running vs purely straight-line like Schwartz).

I think he's better than Schwartz, but a similar frame and athletic ability. Let's hope he has a better career lol

Schwartz is a fair comparison. Track guy. Bond was used primarily as a decoy. Lacks strength. He’s a bubble screen guy. Jet sweeps.

Bond is worth a shot as long as he's clean and stays out of trouble. Sounds like he can catch the ball and has speed. Has upside with minimal risk.

Hopefully he doesn’t single-handedly alter the course of our franchise - in a negative way - like Schwartz arguably did.

He has really quick feet but man I would like to see us grab a few more big and TALL possion style WR. These small guys get killed going through the middle. On the plus side, he has the speed to get down field that I think Flacco will really love. On the negative side, this signing is so late in the preseason that he probably won't be ready till after the bye week to actually play.

Lets hope Tommy Rees is right about this kid.

His size is what it is. The guy is 5'11" and weighs around 185. I don't think he is that small.

Our bye week is in week 10. If he isn't ready to play meaningful snaps before then, there is something wrong.

The season starts in basically a month. He should be up to speed by the start of the season. At max only a couple of games in to the season.

I want to see to taller more physical WRs. Like at least 6'2 plus and at least 210 lbs. Guys that can also run block without getting hurt. I would love to get another Joe Jurevicius who was 6'5 who had great hands and could lay down some wood when he blocked down field but I know guys like him are pretty rare.

From my recollection he played bigger than Swartz or Benjamin. Small receivers can make it but they have to play with a physical style.

Swartz and Benjamin were limited to the outside. I don’t think that applies to Bond.

I don't disagree. I'm just saying I don't mind smaller receivers.

It's not like we don't have taller receivers. Njoku isn't short. Fannin has good size and he has been advertised as being able to play more like a wideout.

Joe J was good, but we got him late in his career so I don't think about him much. Until you just mentioned him, I probably haven't thought about him in maybe 15 years.

When I think about taller receivers we had, I think Dave Logan, and before him Gary Collins.

I liked Joe's game and was sorry when he left. Still fond memories of Warfield and Newsome. But a special place in my memories for Brennan moving sticks. I like good. Who performs?

Dave Logan comes to mind also. He was open on a crossing pattern over the middle in the Red Right 88 game.

sounds like he's gonna be on the roster

We must think something of this kid to sign him for 3 years fully guaranteed. Welcome aboard Isaiah and I wish you the best!!! Newest Cleveland Brown!!

Is it just me or was that highlight reel not really that impressive? I mean, the stuff that didn't get to Bond isn't on him, but the stuff that hit him in his hands worry me.

Ahh, I'm probably being too picky.... The guy looks nutty fast.

Fully guaranteed contract to a person accused of sexual assault
You would have thought we would have learned a lesson by now

The situation and contract aren’t the same. Dude is making just over a million yearly for three years. That is an easy cut loss if needed.



Total Value: $3,018,000.
Guaranteed Money: $3,018,000 (fully guaranteed).
Signing Bonus: $53,000.
Contract Length: 3 years.
Average Annual Salary: $1,006,000.

Unusual Guarantee: The fully guaranteed nature of the contract is a significant departure from typical undrafted free agent deals, which usually have much smaller guarantees, according to CBS Sports.

Potential for Early Extension: Because it's an undrafted free agent contract, Bond is eligible for a contract extension after his second season, unlike drafted players who must wait until after their third season

Isn't this practically a copy-paste of what they wrote for Watson when they closed that deal?

They added the lie detector test to the boilerplate letter. I chuckled. It’s silly they even release these statements. The guy is signed. Leave it at that and move on.

I don’t believe Watson had a lie detector test done for the Browns to look over.

True... Character matters... Eventually his true character will show up. If his arrest was an anomaly, things will be fine off field... If not, bummer, but at least it's $3 million not $230 million

I think the polygraph was done by authorities and the Browns just consulted the authorities. Just how I read it

What that highlight reel confirms in me is that Milroe was a trash QB. I can’t believe the guy was even drafted.

That was kind of my takeaway, too. I kind of liked Milroe as an upside gamble, but if that was all I had seen, I'd have been all the way out.

As far as Bond, I was impressed/surprised with the physicality and toughness. He didn't look like he was just a speed guy. He made tough catches knowing he was going to get blasted, and he finished plays. Don't know about his catch radius, but fortunately accuracy/ball placement looks like one of the rookie QBs better characteristics.

I was just going to post this. So many off target throws. Everyone says that we reached for DG. Milroe went 2 before DG.

heh chances are if Milroe lasted until us that he would have been a Brown and both DG and Sanders would not be.

Anyways this WR is just an average WR who happens to have a lot of FIGHT in him. He fights hard for YAC. Problem is he has trouble tracking the ball sometimes. We paid a cheap price for him and he adds a downfield threat for Flacco who will surely get him the ball downfield so I think it's a good pick up. I could see a situation where we have Jeudy and Bond as WRs, Both our TE's running a 4 receiver set. I think Fannon and Njoku are both good receiving targets and with Flacco slinging the rock they are going to rack up some serious yards.

It's going to be fun watching real football again.

I think Joe and Jerry will have some chemistry, Joe and Njoku had a December connection in 2023.

Flacco’s age doesn’t matter, kids. He’s gonna sling it, so our skill guys need to get open. Jerry Jeudy is heading to another 1,000 yards.