Dolphins to release LB Rey Maualuga after battery arrest

The Dolphins will release Rey Maualuga after the veteran linebacker was arrested on Saturday morning for battery, according to multiple reports.

Andy Slater of sports-talk radio station 940 WINZ in Miami specified the battery bust on Saturday after NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk blog had first reported that Maualuga would be cut by the Dolphins.

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According to Slater’s Twitter feed, Maualuga was at Club E11even in Miami at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat after refusing to pay a $40 tab.

Maualuga signed as a free agent with Miami over the summer after spending eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals, who drafted him in the second round in 2009.

Maualuga appeared in six games, starting four, for the Dolphins this season after rookie Raekwan McMillan tore an ACL in the preseason.

An Ohio judge dismissed a misdemeanor assault charge levied against Maualuga in 2012 after he allegedly slugged an employee of a Cincinnati bar in the face. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of drunk driving and was docked two game checks by the NFL in 2010.