Nick Fairley was acquitted Friday by a Mobile County, Ala., jury on a charge of driving under the influence, ending a three-day trial stemming from an arrest in 2012.
Fairley, who spent the last four seasons with the Detroit Lions, faced possible jail time along with a two-game suspension by the NFL if he had been found guilty.
Fairley, however, must pay a $500 fine after the jury did find him guilty on the lesser charge of reckless driving.
He was arrested after a trooper said he clocked Fairley driving 100 mph and also suspected him of driving under the influence. Fairley's fiance, Fatima Alhassan, refuted parts of the trooper's testimony of the incident when she was questioned under oath on the witness stand during the trial.
Fairley, who played in college at Auburn and grew up in Mobile, Ala., is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next month because the Lions chose not to pick up the option year on his contract. He is coming off a season in which he missed the final nine games because of a knee injury.
"I feel great," Fairley told AL.com after the verdict was announced. "I just want to get this behind me and move forward.
"I'm ready to go back to Houston to start training, rehabbing and get ready for all these teams to come look at me."
