Dwyer has been placed on the Non-Football Injury list after allegedly assaulting his wife and making suicidal statements.
In the wake of the Minnesota Vikings' messy handling of the Adrian Peterson situation, the Arizona Cardinals are moving quickly and deliberately to distance themselves from running back Jonathan Dwyer, who was arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting his wife and young son and promptly deactivated by the team.
Head coach Bruce Arians had stern words for Dwyer's alleged actions on Thursday.
"If someone touches a woman or a child, in my opinion, they need to go to jail for a long, long time," Arians said in an afternoon press conference, according to Tyler Lockman of FoxSportsArizona.com.
Arians said he was "floored" by Dwyer's arrest and added that the running back would not return to the Cardinals unless cleared of wrong-doing by the legal system, per Craig Grialou of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Arians also stated that the release of Chris Rainey from the Cardinals' practice squad was for football reasons. It had been speculated that the running back had been dropped because of his history of domestic violence.
The second-year head coach does not typically meet with the media on Thursdays, but acknowledged this Thursday is not typical.
Dwyer's arrest stems from two separate incidents on consecutive days in late July. Police alleged the 25-year-old broke his wife's nose by head butting her, then punched her in the face the following day. Police also say he sent suicidal text messages to his wife, punched holes in the wall and threw a shoe at his 17-month-old son, who was uninjured.
The Cardinals have placed Dwyer on the Non-Football Injury list and are evaluating his mental state, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.