Jets receiver Braylon Edwards was wide open to making a deal — pleading guilty this morning to a misdemeanor DWI charge after striking a plea arrangement with Manhattan prosecutors following his September 2010 arrest.
“Now it’s just really time to focus on football again. I feel like it came to a fair conclusion,” Edwards said after the hearing. “I’m glad we got this resolved before the free agency process started.”
Edwards, 28, who will serve no jail time as a result of the deal, sported a grin as he walked outside Manhattan Supreme Court and said he hopes to re-sign with the Jets.
“Most definitely,” he replied when asked if he wanted to play with Gang Green this fall.
Edwards had 53 catches for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season.
As a result of the plea deal, Edwards will have to pay a $500 fine and take a six-month driver’s ed course to regain his revoked license.
Edwards also is required to continue his alcohol abuse treatment administered by the NFL. He will take classes once the lockout is resolved.
“He’s been waiting for this period of his life for a very long time,” Edwards’ lawyer, Peter Frankel said, referring to free agency. “He wants to put all negativity behind him.”
Police said they pulled Edwards over at around 5 a.m. last Sept. 21 because his SUV’s windows were too dark.
Officers said the wide receiver’s blood-alcohol level at the time was 0.16, twice the state’s legal limit.
Edwards would have faced a year behind bars had he been convicted at trial.
In April, Edwards had said he “wouldn’t mind” returning to the Jets, though the free agent receiver doesn’t sound enamored with New York City.
In an interview with a Detroit radio station, Edwards called his DUI stop “BS” and said one of the reasons it got so much attention was because it happened in New York.
“The bad thing about this situation is I never drive in New York,” Edwards said while promoting a charity basketball game at the University of Michigan. “One, I don’t know where the heck I’m going, and two, the roads are too bumpy and traffic is crazy.
“I usually always have a chauffeur, but it was a random situation. I went to a teammate’s event and stepped out after that.
“Why I got pulled over wasn’t even because of erratic driving or suspicion of intoxicated driving, it was for tinted windows, which is some BS. But things happen.”
A potential setback to the plea deal is the possibility Edwards may have violated his probation in Cleveland.
Edwards was put on “inactive probation” at the time of his New York arrest relating to a 2009 fight outside a nightclub.
As a result, Edwards could be called back for a hearing in Cleveland, where he could face up to six months behind bars and a $1,000 fine.
At the same time, Edwards got into a minor car crash in Detroit just last month. Police said no summons was issued and alcohol did not appear to be a factor. He was not hurt in the accident.
Edwards could face a fine from the NFL, but that appears unlikely given he is a first-time offender.