A judge in Ohio has agreed to delay the trial of Eagles offensive lineman Josh Sills on rape and kidnapping charges, Chris Franklin of nj.com reports.
The trial in Guernsey County was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but prosecutors filed a motion June 7 requesting additional time. Sills’ attorney, Michael Connick, opposed the delay, stating the prosecution has had enough time to prepare.
Judge Daniel Padden ruled in favor of the prosecution.
The trial now is scheduled for July 31, which comes six days after the Eagles report to training camp at their NovaCare Complex. Sills remains on the Commissioner Exempt List, where the NFL placed him Feb. 1 after his indictment.
That kept Sills from participating in Super Bowl LVII week or the game, and he remains ineligible to rejoin the team until Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstates him.
The indictment accuses Sills of engaging in non-consensual sexual activity and holding a victim against her will in 2019.
“The timing of presenting the case to the grand jury was intentional and retaliatory to deprive Mr. Sills from participating in an event that is the pinnacle of every National Football League player’s career, a pinnacle very few players achieve,” Connick wrote in his rebuttal, via Franklin.
Connick has said the allegations are false.
Sills, who played college football at West Virginia and Oklahoma State, appeared in only one game for Philadelphia as a rookie in 2022.
