Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson - Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings are preparing for the start of training camp next week. Outside of some former players making their way into the news cycle for a variety of reasons, it’s been a rather quiet summer break, since the team broke from minicamp last month.
Of course, that wasn’t the case last season. The series of unfortunate off-field events last summer began when Khyree Jackson, who had been standing out during offseason workouts after being picked in the 4th round of the 2023 NFL Draft just months earlier, tragically died in a car accident that occured on 4th of July weekend.
Jordan Addison’s original plea: “Not Guilty”
Days later, 2023 1st round pick Jordan Addison was arrested on suspicion of DUI near LAX Airport in Los Angeles. Police reportedly found him asleep at the wheel of his white Rolls-Royce that was blocking the the number one lane of the freeway.
Addison’s arrest launched a full year of court proceedings that, early on, we originally thought were being strategically pushed back and delayed by Jordan, his council and the Minnesota Vikings, in order to make sure the No. 2 wide receiver would finish out the 2024 season without the NFL levying a suspension on him.
NFL: San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings
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When everything started to move forward, however, Jordan Addison submitted a plea of “Not Guilty”, proving he and his team of attorneys were determined to fight the charges. He maintained his innocence throughout the pretrial process too, until the actual trial was set to start on Tuesday.
Jordan Addison pleads guilty to lesser “wet reckless” charge
Instead of moving ahead, onto jury selection etc, Addison’s courtroom appointment for Tuesday was taken off the schedule. In its place, another pretrial hearing was set for Thursday. Earlier this week, former practicing attorney, Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk.com) wondered if something might be up.
[Thursday’s new “pretrial hearing”] label is too broad to permit a reliable inference as to what it means. Some think there will be a plea deal that is formalized at the hearing. That’s possible, but “pretrial hearing” doesn’t convey that clearly.
The lingering employment problem for Addison continues to be this — any outcome that suggests responsibility will trigger a baseline suspension of three games without pay.
Mike Florio – ProFootballTalk.com
Related: Former MN Vikings Pro Bowler Kicked Off Delta Flight After Emergency Landing
And sure enough, Florio was proven right today when Jordan Addison’s attorney took to Twitter and announced that his client was pleading guilty, but not to the original “Driving Under the Influence” charges.
Instead, the 23-year-old former No. 23 overall pick is pleading guilty to a lesser “Reckless Driving” charge that assumes alcohol was involved. In California, the plead down charge is better known under its informal moniker, a “wet reckless”, which is what Younger & Associates used to make the new plea public on X.
Today , after careful consideration of the charges against him and all defenses, Jordan Addison decided to plead to a lesser included vehicular offense, commonly referred to as a “wet reckless.” As a result, Mr. Addison will pay a standard fine and complete two online courses…
— Younger & Associates/QB Limited/Tim Younger (@YoungerAssoc) July 17, 2025
A “wet reckless” is a negotiated plea. Specifically, “wet reckless” is the term given to a plea whereby the prosecutor originally charges a DUI (under Vehicle Code Section 23152), but later drops those charges in exchange for the defendant pleading guilty (or “no contest”) to a charge of reckless driving (under Vehicle Code Section 23103). The “wet” in “wet reckless” means that there is an acknowledgement that the reckless driving involved alcohol and/or other drugs. This disposition is authorized by Vehicle Code Section 23103.5.
You cannot be arrested for or charged with a “wet reckless”; it is not a stand-alone crime. It is exclusively a negotiated plea. Essentially, it is a disposition in between a reckless driving conviction and a DUI conviction. Think of it as a reduced-penalty DUI.
Now we wait for the NFL to rule on possible suspension for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver
This is a big win for Jordan Addison, outside of football. Sure, the reckless driving charge probably means it’ll cost him a lot of money to get into Canada for the next decade or so, but this plea deal means he will no longer have “DUI” on his driving record.
If more details come out on exactly what led to today’s plea, we will add it to this article. But on the football field, we do not know what this change will mean for a possible Jordan Addison suspension. As Florio noted earlier this week, the standard operating procedure for a DUI suspension is three games.
Related: Justin Jefferson Loses Top Spot in WR Rankings
Clearly, a “wet reckless” still has legally binding alcohol-related implications. Thus, the NFL would still be well within its right to suspend Addison, even after the plea deal. Will they? If they do indeed go through with a suspension, will it reach the three game standard, or will the league bring Addison’s punishment down as well?
We’ll soon find out.
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