Edwards pleads guilty in DWI case

After months of pushing for a trial to resolve his September DWI case, Jets free-agent receiver Braylon Edwards entered a guilty plea Friday in striking a deal with prosecutors that will allow him to avoid jail time and probation.

Edwards, 28, was ordered in Manhattan Criminal Court to pay a $500 fine, continue an NFL alcohol-counseling program and have his driver's license suspended for six months. He also must fit his car with a breath-alcohol sensor tied to the ignition.

"I feel good," Edwards said. "I feel like it came to a fair conclusion by the judge and DA. I'm happy that it's past and now it's just really time to focus on football again."

Edwards' attorney, Peter Frankel, made it clear that the U-turn away from insisting on a trial with "a very legitimate chance of having success" had to do with Edwards' free agency and his eagerness to return to football now that the NFL labor dispute appears near a solution.

"Braylon has been waiting for this period in his life for a very long time," Frankel said. "This is a very exciting period for him. He wants to put any negativity behind him and move forward."

Frankel had challenged the reliability of Breathalyzer results, which authorities said found Edwards' blood-alcohol level at twice the legal limit after a Sept. 21 police stop in Manhattan. Frankel had said he planned to call a dozen witnesses on Edwards' behalf.

If he had been convicted at trial, Edwards faced up to a year in prison, which might have meant a violation of probation -- and possibly a $1,000 fine and additional six months of jail time -- from a previous no-contest plea for aggravated disorderly conduct at a Cleveland nightclub in January 2010.

Edwards was involved in a minor car accident in Detroit last month. There were no injuries and no charges were filed.

The WNFL alcohol counseling program, in which Edwards has participated since October, is "above and beyond" the drunken driving prevention program typically assigned in guilty pleas for a first DWI offense, according to a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office. She said the $500 fine was typical for a DWI, a Class A misdemeanor.

"I'm glad that we got it resolved today before free agency is officially open," said Edwards, declaring that he "most definitely" prefers to remain with the Jets.