Ahmad Bradshaw Pleads Not Guilty to Pot Charge
By Evan Reller
Indianapolis Colts running back Ahmad Bradshaw was pulled over last week in Preble County in Ohio and cited for possession of marijuana. Today he entered a plea of not guilty to the misdemeanor charge according to the Associated Press.
Bradshaw was traveling back to Indiana on I-70 last Thursday and initially pulled over for driving too close to another vehicle. A passenger in his vehicle was arrested and charged with two counts of possession.
County court officials said the plea was filed earlier on Tuesday. The citation was apparently payable with a fine that excluded a court appearance. Bradshaw now has a pretrial hearing scheduled for February 25.
Bradshaw finished the season on Injured Reserve for the second straight season with a fractured fibula. He was having a strong season with 725 total yards and eight touchdowns. Bradshaw was on pace to set a running back record for receiving touchdowns when his season was cut short.
Bradshaw will become a free agent when the season ends in a few weeks. With the trials and tribulations of Trent Richardson, the Colts are clearly going to be in the market for another running back.
Its clear that Bradshaw is a talented running back, but he simply can’t stay healthy. Dan Herron proved his worth in the postseason but he’s still just an average rusher. The Colts are also going to get Vick Ballard back next season, but its unlikely he’ll be the same player after tearing his ACL in practice in back-to-back seasons.
With the NFL Scouting Combine taking place in Indianapolis this week, you can be sure that the Colts are looking at the pool of running backs participating in the event. Given that Colts GM Ryan Grigson cited 40 times as his most important combine event, running back seems to be high on the list.
The Colts have yet to issue a formal statement on Bradshaw’s situation only saying they are still gathering information on the matter. Considering all the bad press lately with Colts players leading the NFL in arrests in 2015, its hard to imagine the front office is pleased with this latest event.