Eagles reserve lineman waives arraignment in rape case

CAMBRIDGE, Ohio (AP) — A reserve offensive lineman for the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles will make his initial court appearance in Ohio on rape and kidnapping charges next month after waiving his arraignment in the case.

Josh Sills, an undrafted free agent who appeared in just one game this season, was scheduled to appear in Guernsey County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 16. He instead chose to waive his appearance, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Sills remains free on a $25,000 cash bond he posted and he’s is due to appear at a pretrial hearing March 9.

The rookie, who played at West Virginia and Oklahoma State, was indicted Jan. 31 by a Guernsey County grand jury. His attorney, Michael Connick, has said the allegations are false and that Sills will be aggressively defended.

Sills was listed as a backup guard and played just four snaps on special teams against the Cardinals on Oct. 9 — the one game he played. He was on the inactive list for most of the year and was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after he was indicted, meaning he couldn’t practice, play or travel with the Eagles as they prepared for their Super Bowl matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.

The indictment accuses Sills, who is from Sarahsville, Ohio, of engaging in sexual activity that was not consensual and holding a woman against her will on Dec. 5, 2019. A statement issued by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the incident was immediately reported, and that the county sheriff’s office conducted a detailed investigation.