ENGLEWOOD, Colorado, USA – Melvin Gordon’s DUI charges against the Denver Broncos were fired Wednesday morning in Denver County Court, as Gordon pleaded guilty to lesser charges of speeding and reckless driving.
Gordon had scheduled a jury trial for April 8 if the case had not been resolved before. The 27-year-old was arrested Oct. 13 in downtown Denver and charged with DUI; he was also cited for speeding, between 25 and 39 mph above the legal limit.
He did not take a breathalyzer test at the scene.
The Denver District Attorney’s Office dismissed DUI charges after Gordon’s legal team raised evidentiary concerns. Gordon, who had pleaded guilty to the DUI indictment in January, rescheduled an earlier hearing on Wednesday after his attorneys cited new information.
Gordon will probably also avoid league discipline. The NFL had previously suspended players who had been accused of reckless driving, including former New York Giants expeller Aldrick Rosas last season, but in that incident Rojas had also been accused of leaving the scene of an accident. and to drive without a valid permit.
In 2018, then-New York Jets receiver Robby Anderson was not suspended by the NFL after defending any challenge for a reckless driving charge.
Gordon signed a two-year, $ 16 million deal with the Broncos last season. This past season he led the Broncos in runs (215), running yards (986) and touchdowns (nine).
Wednesday’s dismissal also had a potential financial impact for Gordon beyond the loss of pay due to the league’s suspension. If Gordon had been suspended, Broncos general manager George Paton could have canceled $ 6.5 million guaranteed for 2021 in the Gordon deal due to the arrest.
When the season was over, Gordon said, “As for the contract and all that, I let my agent take care of all that: the void and all that. I wish I had done enough to keep me here. “So we’ll see, I hope it works, and I hope they like it enough to put it all aside. I guess in a couple of months we’ll see what happens.”
Two weeks after his arrest, Gordon had said, “I’m sorry I was even in the situation … viouslybviated I try to do my best to walk in a straight line and set an example, things like that. I’m a little upset Until and I put myself in that situation. “