Ellis agrees to plea agreement

Kenrick Ellis reportedly pled to a lesser charge of assault and battery (a misdemeanor) during a pre-trial hearing Thursday afternoon in Hampton (Va.) Circuit Court.

The Jets nose tackle had been facing a felony malicious wounding charge -- which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The Commonwealth’s attorney’s office could not be reached for comment, but by accepting a plea agreement, Ellis could face six months of active jail time, the victim’s attorney S. Howard Woodward told the Star-Ledger.

Ellis refused to discuss the case Wednesday with reporters. He repeatedly said “it's a legal issue” when pressed about the felony charge that stemmed from an April 2010 incident while he was at Hampton University.

The Jets deferred comment to Ellis’ legal representation.

The 6-5 Ellis – who said he’s down 10 pounds to 335 – allegedly broke the nose and jaw of a man who swung a baseball bat at him. But the Jets believed there was enough reward vs. risk to warrant drafting Ellis 94th overall in 2011.

“Any pick has risk,” general manager Mike Tannenbaum said on draft day, though he wouldn’t discuss Ellis’ situation specifically. “We did a lot of research on the player. Based on all the information we have, we’re comfortable taking him. Maybe his risk is more than others. But if we didn’t feel like there was a path to have him be successful here, we wouldn’t have taken him.”

Ellis recorded five tackles in five games (including two starts) last year.