It’s not really a holiday weekend in Miami until a professional athlete gets arrested in South Beach. So get those Fourth of July firecrackers ready because early this morning, Green Bay Packers tight end Andrew Quarless got the weekend started.

Quarless ended up in police custody after firing a gun twice into the ground, according to Miami Beach police.

Police say the pro football star got into a fight near 4th Street and Washington Avenue that led to him firing his gun around 5:30 a.m. Quarless allegedly tried to flee the scene but was apprehended by a pair of officers. He was charged with discharging a firearm in public.

Ernesto Rodriguez, a Miami Beach PD spokesman, confirmed the details of the arrest to New Times. More information should be available, he says, when he is cleared to release an incident report later today.

Quarless, a New York native, starred at Penn State under Joe Paterno before the Packers drafted him in 2010. Last year, he played 16 games, catching 29 passes for three touchdowns.

Want to know more? Got the drop at the Miami New Times . . .