Philadelphia Eagles player charged with rape and kidnapping ahead of Super Bowl

Philadelphia Eagles forward Josh Sills has been charged with rape and kidnapping in his home state of Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Guernsey County Sheriff Jeffrey D. Paden announced the alleged criminal behavior on Wednesday.

The Guernsey County indictment states that Sills, 25, “engaged in sexual relations” with the victim and “intentionally coerced her into submission by force or threat of force” on December 5, 2019.

In addition, prosecutors allege that he restricted the freedom of his victim, preventing her from leaving.

A grand jury indicted Sills on one count of rape and kidnapping this week.

The news comes less than two weeks before the Eagles take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The New York Post reported that Sills only appeared in one regular season game, playing four special teams snaps against the Arizona Cardinals on October 9.

The Eagles won the game 20-17.

Eagles’ Josh Sills charged with rape and kidnapping ahead of Super Bowl pic.twitter.com/iZkCagQyT7

— New York Post (@nypost) February 1, 2023

Sills played for both West Virginia University and Oklahoma State University.

He signed with the Eagles ahead of the 2022 season as an undrafted free agent.

Sills is due in court on February 16, four days after the Super Bowl, according to a press release from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

The case will be investigated by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor’s Office.

Neither the Eagles nor the Sills have made any public allegations as of Wednesday morning, the Post reported.

Mike Florio of NBC Sports wrote that “The relative importance of the backup quarterback to the team and the serious nature of the allegations may (and perhaps should) lead the Eagles to release Sills without delay.”

The Eagles handily beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.

The team last won the Super Bowl in 2018, beating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.