At least three games, under the collective agreement
ESPN reported on Sunday morning that Keenan Allen has been formally charged with two drunk-driving counts after his arrest in Indianapolis on August 30. The Indianapolis Colts receiver is now facing a suspension of at least three games.
That three-game floor is not some random decision from the league. It comes straight from the collective bargaining agreement signed by the NFL and the players union, which sets an automatic punishment for cases like this. The ban can run longer depending on the blood alcohol level recorded.
And the court papers reviewed by ESPN list a level of 0.224. That triggered a class A charge, the more serious of the two brought against him. The other count, operating while intoxicated, is class C.
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A case that could drag on
Indianapolis police say Allen was parked in a no-parking zone and showed signs of intoxication at the time. The NFL is expected to wait for the court case to play out before handing down any punishment. Next on the calendar: an attorneys’ conference set for October 26.
In other words, this could stay open for weeks yet. Allen remains available to the Colts in the meantime, leaving the franchise in an awkward spot: building a plan without knowing when it will lose its receiver.
A career that ranks 13th in history
The football backdrop gives this story extra weight. Allen joined Indianapolis on August 18 on a one-year deal, just days before his arrest. In his debut for his new team, he caught six passes for 32 yards in Sunday’s 41-23 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Not exactly a statement night for a player who sits 13th in NFL history with 1,061 career catches. A six-time Pro Bowler, he has 12,083 receiving yards and 70 touchdowns in 172 games, split between the San Diego and Los Angeles Chargers, the Chicago Bears and now the Colts. A three-game suspension would bite hard into a season that has started on a short-term contract, with no guarantee of what comes next.
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