Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Rasheed Walker was arrested Friday morning at New York’s LaGuardia Airport after authorities discovered a firearm and ammunition in his checked luggage.
According to court documents obtained by ESPN, Walker, 25, was taken into custody shortly before 11 a.m. after informing a Delta Air Lines employee that his bag contained a locked case holding a handgun.
That disclosure prompted airport staff to alert Port Authority Police, who responded to Terminal C and searched the bag. Inside the locked box, officers found a 9mm Glock pistol along with 36 rounds of ammunition, prosecutors said.
The seventh-round draft pick was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, as well as criminal possession of a firearm. Walker later appeared in Queens County Criminal Court, where he was released on his own recognizance.
He is scheduled to return to court on March 19.
Walker's attorney, Arthur Aidala, said the gun was legally registered in Wisconsin, where the Packers are based, and argued that the situation stemmed from a misunderstanding of New York’s strict gun laws.
Aidala told ESPN that Walker believed he was allowed to travel with the firearm because it was secured in a locked container and properly licensed in his home state.
“He told a person from Delta he was traveling with a firearm,” Aidala said. “He mistakenly thought because he had a licensed firearm and it was in a locked box that he was able to travel with it.”
Aidala added that the defense expects the case to be resolved without long-term consequences, saying, “We are confident the matter will be resolved favorably.”
Walker joined the Green Bay Packers in May 2022 after being selected in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Since then, he has become part of the team’s offensive line rotation, appearing in multiple games and contributing during key stretches of the season.
As of this writing, the Packers have not publicly commented on Walker’s arrest.