Embattled running back Mike Goodson, who pleaded not guilty Wednesday to drug and weapons charges, will return to the practice field next week for the New York Jets, a league source said.
Goodson sat out the first week of OTA practices amid the fallout from his arrest, which included speculation his brief Jets career could be over. The Jets may take some heat for letting him back so soon, but team officials have said they will let the legal process run its course before deciding his fate.
The Jets can't force him to sit out because the practices are voluntary, but the two sides came to a mutual understanding early in the week that it would be best to let things calm down before having him on the field and scrutinized by the media.
Only one of the first three practices was open to the media. That was Wednesday, the day of Goodson's arraignment in Morris County (N.J.) Superior Court, where he was formally charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, possession of a loaded handgun, possession of marijuana (under 50 grams), possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of hollow point ammunition.
He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of the gun charges. He told the Jets the gun doesn't belong to him, according to his lawyer. He also faces possible punishment from the NFL.
Goodson was arrested after 3 a.m. last Friday when the car he was riding in stopped in a center lane on Route 80 in New Jersey. Embarrassing details emerged Wednesday, when a state trooper, in an affidavit, said Goodson was "incoherent, slobbering and had vomited all over himself" in the passenger seat.
He was so intoxicated he was taken to a nearby hospital before he was booked. Goodson had no idea there was marijuana or a gun in the car, according to his lawyer, but a small bag of pot was discovered in a pants pocket, police said. He was released after posting $50,000 bail.
Goodson, formerly of the Oakland Raiders and Carolina Panthers, signed a three-year, $6.9 million contract in March.