LAKE MARY, Fla. -- An NFL player was arrested in Lake Mary on Tuesday, accused of driving while intoxicated, leading law enforcement on a chase and ramming a deputy's vehicle to escape.

Barry Cofield found passed out in SUV on I-4 off-ramp, deputies say

When confronted, Cofield took off, led them on chase, they say

Investigators said he showed signs of impairment, had drugs on him

Barry Cofield was found unconscious in the driver's seat of a black Cadillac Escalade that was stopped on the off-ramp from eastbound Interstate 4 at West Lake Mary Boulevard, the Seminole County Sheriff's Office said.

Lake Mary Police called deputies to assist because they said Cofield was blocking traffic at an intersection.

Deputies said that when Cofield finally responded to commands from officers, he refused to put his vehicle in park and instead stepped on the gas and went through the light.

Deputies pursued the vehicle on Lake Mary Boulevard, trying to get the driver to stop. At Lake Mary Boulevard and International Parkway, investigators said the driver swiped a vehicle stopped at the intersection and kept going.

When they got to the Steeple Chase subdivision, one of the deputies tried to block the Escalade, but the man crashed into the side of it, according to a Sheriff's Office arrest report.

Another deputy blocked the Escalade in the back, and as they started to try to break the driver's side window, Cofield got out of the SUV, they said.

Deputies said Cofield's breath smelled of alcohol, and his eyes were bloodshot. They said Cofield refused to take part in sobriety exercises or give a breath sample. Deputies also said they found two small, clear plastic bags with a red powdery substance in a pocket of his pants, which "presumptively field tested positive for heroin," according to the arrest report.

Cofield is facing charges of fleeing and eluding law enforcement, driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting a law enforcement officer without violence and possession of heroin.

Cofield is a free-agent defensive tackle who has played for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins.