Doug Pederson: Josh Huff's arrest 'legal matter,' still gathering info

PHILADELPHIA -- Eagles wide receiver Josh Huff will not face immediate disciplinary action from the team following his arrest Tuesday, and is expected to play Sunday against the New York Giants.

Huff has been charged with possessing an unloaded 9 mm handgun without a permit and a small amount of marijuana after he was pulled over for speeding on the Walt Whitman Bridge on the New Jersey side.

"He and I spoke about it privately. It's one of the things I talk about all the time with players, you just try to eliminate distractions and take care of your business outside of the building," coach Doug Pederson said Wednesday. "He understands. Obviously it is out of our hands at this point, and we've just got to see where it goes.

"Nothing changes right now until we get ... again, it's out of our hands. It's a legal matter right now, and we'll get more information on it."

Huff faces charges for possessing the gun without a permit in New Jersey and for the magazine found with six hollow-point bullets. He also faces a disorderly persons offense for having less than 50 grams of marijuana, police said. Pederson revealed that Huff was at the Eagles' practice facility before the incident.

"He was here yesterday morning," Pederson said. "He came in and watched the game film and then left from here, so it was sometime after he left."

There have been a number of off-field incidents during Pederson's short time as head coach of the Eagles. A dancer at a Philadelphia strip club accused wide receiver Nelson Agholor of sexual assault in June, though Agholor was never charged. Linebacker Nigel Bradham was arrested in late July after allegedly striking a Miami hotel employee after a verbal altercation, and was arrested again in October at Miami International Airport after authorities say TSA workers found a loaded gun in his backpack.

To this point, the team has not handed down disciplinary action for any of the incidents.

"It's like you're the father of your house and you've just got to keep talking to your siblings and just keep talking to your kids and keep reiterating the importance of who you represent, what you represent, your families, the Philadelphia Eagles and you've got to make smart choices," Pederson said. "It's all about choices and consequences in life. If you make bad choices, you've got to suffer the consequences."

Pederson said he can't control what players do once they leave the Eagles' facility, but he reminded his players that they are under a microscope as NFL players in Philadelphia.

"I would say that I do [have control of this team]. I can't control what you do once you leave here. I don't know what you're going to do. Now, I'm not responsible for you [the reporter], but I can't control what you do once you leave these premises, neither can the Philadelphia Eagles control what I do once I leave these premises.

"I just know who I am as a person and I try to relay that to the team, and just let them know that, 'Hey guys, the spotlight is on us. In this city, in this market, the spotlight is on everything we do. And you have to be smart. You have to make right choices. You have to do things differently, you just have to do them differently, because everything is magnified.' Once they leave here, that's the hardest thing to control."