Dwayne Bowe Pleads Guilty To Defective Equipment And Littering; Pot Charge Dropped

Sep 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver

(82) prior to playing the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. The Chiefs defeated the Eagles 26-16. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

We finally have a verdict on Dwayne Bowe’s marijuana and speeding charge after his November arrest. Prosecutors say Bowe pleaded guilty to an amended charge of defective equipment and littering. He’ll be fined $550 (plus court costs) and will not be on probation. The marijuana charge was thrown out.

What this means for Bowe and the NFL is speculation at this point. With that understood, let’s do some speculating.

No drug charges likely means Bowe will be in the clear when it comes to a long-term suspension from the NFL. A four-game suspension for Bowe is probably not going to happen unless there is some kind of evidence the NFL deems permissible that the court did not. As things standing now, the NFL does not have a positive marijuana test and does not have a drug conviction from the courts. One would assume this means suspending him four games isn’t an option.

This doesn’t mean Bowe is totally out of the woods as Tamba Hali was suspended for one game after pleading guilty to a lesser charge in his marijuana case. However, Hali’s charged with a drug related crime while there was no charge against Bowe for drugs. This may prevent the NFL from suspending Bowe at all. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the NFL did some kind of investigation in to Bowe’s legal situation given Bowe’s other issues with the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, so don’t be surprised to see a post about that in the near future.

What we know for sure is this: Bowe’s pleading guilty to defective equipment and littering is the best scenario to come out of this situation legally aside from all charges being dropped.

Now excuse me, I have a sudden urge to visit a local Sonic.