In the wake of his decision to plead guilty to DUI manslaughter, Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was suspended indefinitely by the NFL on Thursday and will now have to wait until commissioner Roger Goodell decides how long that suspension will last.

An indefinite suspension could mean a lot of things. Michael Vick was suspended indefinitely for being imprisoned on federal dog-fighting charges and is still waiting to hear how long his suspension will actually last. Adam “Pacman” Jones was suspended indefinitely last October after fighting with a bodyguard in a hotel bathroom and only received four games.

But chances are, indefinitely means at least one season for Stallworth. In Goodell’s written letter to Stallworth about the suspension the commish wrote, “Your conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable.”

That doesn’t sound like a man who’s ready to suspend a player only four or six games. This is just speculation on my part, but I’m willing to bet that Stallworth serves at least a 16-game suspension and has to sit out the entire 2009 season.

If he is out the entire season, the Browns did a nice job this offseason preparing for Stallworth’s absence. They drafted Ohio State wideout Brian Robiskie and Georgia receiver Mohamed Massaquoi in the second round of April’s draft and also signed free agent Mike Furrey. For now, everything also looks copacetic with Braylon Edwards, who at one point or another could have been traded this offseason.

It’ll be interesting to see what kind of suspension Goodell hands down but either way, the Browns are prepared and they’ll be able to save a decent amount of money if he is suspended for a significant amount of time.

Browns’ receiver Donte’ Stallworth has agreed to a plead guilty to a DUI manslaughter charge stemming from an incident in Miami in which he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car.

Stallworth, 28, is scheduled to appear Tuesday in a Miami courtroom to enter the plea. If accepted by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Dennis Murphy, Stallworth would serve a short jail sentence for the March 14 crash, followed by lengthy probation and numerous conditions, Terry Chavez, spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, told The Associated Press.

Miami Beach police said Stallworth was drinking at a bar in the swank Fountainebleu hotel. He left to go to a nearby home — he owns three properties in the Miami area — and then headed out in his black 2005 Bentley on MacArthur Causeway, which links the beach to downtown Miami.

Prosecutors say Stallworth hit 59-year-old Mario Reyes, a construction crane operator who was rushing to catch a bus after finishing his shift around 7:15 a.m. Stallworth told police he flashed his lights in an attempt to warn Reyes, who was not in a crosswalk when he was struck.
“He’s shown remorse and taken responsibility from day one,” Chavez said.

Stallworth stopped after the crash and immediately told officers he had hit Reyes. Police estimated Stallworth was driving about 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.

This is a sad situation and one of those moments that could have been avoided had one thing went differently. If Stallworth hadn’t been drinking, maybe his reaction time would have been better and he could have slammed on his breaks. If Reyes hadn’t been rushing to get on the bus, maybe he would have used the crosswalk instead of running across a busy street.

Either way, it’s a tragedy. But at least the court process doesn’t look like it will be dragged out, which is good for everyone involved.

Update: Stallworth will serve 30 days in jail for pleading guilty to DUI manslaughter. It’s assumed that he will be able to continue his football career by reaching this plea agreement.

Browns receiver Donte Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter in a Florida courtroom on Thursday morning stemming from an incident a few months ago in which he struck and killed a pedestrian with his car. If he’s found guilty, he would face a mandatory four-year prison sentence.

The plea was entered at a brief court hearing Thursday by defense attorney Christopher Lyons. The 28-year-old Stallworth did not appear in court. A trial date has not been set.

Stallworth faces up to 15 years if convicted. Police say Stallworth was driving drunk after a night on the town when he struck and killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes on a Miami Beach causeway.
Stallworth is free on $200,000 bail and is required to abstain from alcohol, not drive and observe a curfew.

It’s reported that Stallworth’s defense team will try and argue that the victim was just as much at fault for the accident because he was jaywalking across a busy street. Stallworth has already claimed that tried to flash his lights to warn the pedestrian, but the fact that he was driving while impaired will work against him.