On Friday, September 6, while the Patriots are making their final preparations to face the Bills two days later, New England cornerback Alfonzo Dennard will be in a Nebraska courtroom.
Dennard, who was originally scheduled to appear in court this week on a probation violation hearing, had his court date moved to September 6, according to Lori Pilger of the Lincoln Journal Star.
In April, Dennard was placed on probation and sentenced to 30 days in jail after he was convicted of assaulting a police officer. At the time, the judge agreed to put off the 30-day jail sentence until after the upcoming NFL season, and said that if Dennard kept his nose clean he would get the opportunity to avoid jail at all. But in July, Dennard was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The worst-case scenario for Dennard and the Patriots would be that the judge finds that Dennard violated his probation with the DUI arrest and orders him to serve the 30-day jail stint immediately. Going to jail for 30 days starting on September 6 would keep Dennard out for at least the first five games of the regular season.
However, it’s also possible that Dennard’s court date could get pushed back again, and that he won’t even have to miss any practice. So far, Dennard has managed to avoid having his off-field incidents affect his availability to the Patriots.