Cleveland Browns defensive end Marcus Benard has pleaded not guilty to two traffic charges stemming from his motorcycle accident last week.
Benard didn't appear in Parma Municipal Court on Tuesday. His attorney faxed in the pleas.
Benard, who's done for the season after breaking his hand and sustaining other unspecified injuries in the crash, was charged with reckless operation and driving with a suspended license. A pretrial hearing has been set for Nov. 21.
Police estimated that Benard was thrown 241 feet after smashing his three-wheel, Can-Am Spyder into a guardrail on Interstate 71. A witness told police that Benard was traveling at "a high rate of speed" before he crossed four lanes of traffic and slammed into the guardrail shortly after practice.
Benard spent three nights in the Cleveland Clinic following the crash.
The Browns placed Benard on the reserve non-football injury list and have decided to pay him for the remainder of this season. The team could have opted not to pay Benard, who led the team with 7.5 sacks last season, because he violated a "dangerous activities" clause in his contract.
Browns coach Pat Shurmur said last week that he believes Benard has a future with the team.
Notes: The Browns announced Tuesday that they have signed RB Chris Ogbonnaya to their active roster from the Houston Texans' practice squad and waived rookie RB Armond Smith. The Browns might have signed Ogbonnaya as protection for Peyton Hillis, who's nursing a hamstring that he strained during the first quarter of Sunday's loss at Oakland. It isn't known how long Hillis will be sidelined. Ogbonnaya spent the 2009 season in St. Louis, where he worked with Shurmur, and played college ball at Texas, where he was a teammate with current Browns QB Colt McCoy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
