Packers OL Rasheed Walker Arrested at LaGuardia After Attempting to Check Firearm
Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Rasheed Walker was arrested Friday at New York’s LaGuardia Airport after attempting to check a bag containing a firearm and ammunition, according to reports.
Walker, 25, reportedly informed a Delta Airlines employee that he was traveling with a locked box containing a handgun. That disclosure prompted a response from Port Authority police, who found a 9mm Glock and 36 rounds of ammunition inside the box. He was taken into custody and later charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, along with criminal possession of a firearm.
Walker’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, stated that the lineman believed he was following proper protocol by declaring the weapon and traveling with it secured in a locked case. “He mistakenly thought because he had a licensed firearm and it was locked in a box that he was able to travel with it,” Aidala told reporters. “We are confident that the case will be dismissed.”
The incident is the latest off-the-field development for a player who’s been steadily carving out a role on one of the NFL’s most promising young offensive lines.
Walker, a 6-foot-6, 324-pound tackle, was a standout at Penn State from 2018 to 2021, earning All-Big Ten honors in both 2020 and 2021. He entered the league as a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, selected 249th overall by the Packers.
Despite the late-round draft status, Walker has been a key contributor in Green Bay’s trenches. He’s played in 52 games and started 48 of them-a testament to his development and the trust the coaching staff has placed in him. He’s been part of a line that’s helped anchor the Packers’ offense through a transitional period, and his presence at left tackle has been critical, especially in pass protection.
This legal situation now puts Walker’s offseason under a different kind of spotlight. While his attorney remains confident in a favorable outcome, the case will likely need to work its way through the legal system before any resolution is reached.
For now, the Packers and Walker await further developments, with the team’s offseason program still several weeks away.