NEW YORK -- New York Jets wide receiver-turned-free agent Braylon Edwards is hustling to find out whether he'll face a probation violation and possible jail in Cleveland after pleading guilty to drunk driving in New York.
A Cleveland Municipal Court hearing initially set for Aug. 8 was moved up to Wednesday, a court spokesman said Tuesday.
"The sooner to deal with it, the better," Edwards' lawyer, Peter M. Frankel, said Tuesday.
With the new date, Edwards, 28, could have an answer to his legal questions before NFL teams can start signing free agents Friday. They were allowed to start negotiating Tuesday, a day after players and owners cemented a new collective bargaining agreement.
The hearing is intended for a judge to decide whether Edwards' now-admitted drunk driving in New York amounts to breaking his probation in Cleveland. In January 2010, he pleaded no contest there to aggravated disorderly conduct after being accused of punching a friend of NBA star LeBron James.
While on his 18-month probation from the Cleveland case, Edwards was charged with driving while intoxicated in his Land Rover in Manhattan in September. Police said his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit.
He pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor DWI charge, with a deal that calls for the case to be closed without jail time or probation if he meets conditions that include paying a $500 fine and staying in an NFL substance-abuse counseling program. Edwards called it "a fair conclusion" to the case and said he was glad to have resolved it before the free agency period opened.
If the Cleveland judge finds he violated probation, she could sentence him to up to six months in jail but wouldn't have to give him any time behind bars.
His lawyer said he hoped the judge would consider Edwards' charitable work in weighing any potential punishment for him. His Braylon Edwards Foundation gives scholarships, including $1 million in college grants to Cleveland students this spring, and contributes to health and hunger-prevention groups.
"I think the equities are certainly in his favor if you can look at all the work he's done and balance it against the one misstep in New York," Frankel said.
Edwards had 53 catches for 904 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He has said he'd like to stay with the Jets.
Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press
