Braylon Edwards pleads guilty to DWI

New York Jets veteran free agent wide receiver Braylon Edwards pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated charge today in Manhattan.

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, Edwards was fined $500, had his driver's license suspended for six months and was mandated to maintain his status in the NFL substance-abuse program.

"He's been waiting for this period of his life for a very long time," Edwards' attorney, Peter Frankel, said in a reference to Edwards' free agent status. "He wants to put any negativity behind him."

Edwards had a blood-alcohol level of 0.16. That's twice the legal limit in New York.

Edwards hopes to remain in New York with the Jets.

"I feel good; I feel like it came to a fair conclusion," Edwards said regarding his DWI."I'm happy this is past us and now it's time to focus on football again."

Edwards may have violated his probation in Cleveland from a nightclub incident from two years ago.

Per the report, he could face up to six months in prison as well as a $1,000 fine.

"If he's called to Cleveland, he's going to go, and he's going to deal with whatever may come with that," Frankel said. "But with everything he's done over the past 18 months, the tremendous charitable contributions he's made, I think that he's ready to put this behind him and move forward."

Will Edwards be fined under the NFL substance-abuse policies?

"I would hope not, but I'm glad we got it resolved today before free agency is officially opened," Edwards said. "That's definitely good for us, but at the same time, I don't know. You may have some teams that are wary; you may have some teams that hopefully want an upstanding young man and are still OK with it."

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for the Carroll County Times.