Nick Fairley Found Guilty of Reckless Driving, Acquitted of DUI

Detroit Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley was acquitted on a driving under the influence charge Friday; however, the 27-year-old star was ruled guilty of reckless driving.

According to Jacqueline Quynh of WKRG.com, the soon-to-be free agent will have to pay a $500 fine as punishment:

AL.com's Michael Dumas reported Fairley's thoughts on the verdicts, with the defensive lineman saying: "I feel great. I just want to get this behind me and move forward. It has been emotional. I'm ready to go back to Houston to start training, rehabbing and get ready for all these teams to come look at me."

The charges stemmed from a May 2012 incident that resulted in Fairley being arrested in Alabama, per ESPN.com. Fairley was allegedly going over 100 mph and did not initially pull over when pursued by police.

The jury ultimately determined that there was not enough evidence to prove guilt regarding the DUI charge, which was a huge victory from Fairley's perspective, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com:

This decision comes one day after Fairley's fiancee claimed that the alcoholic beverage found inside the vehicle at the time of Fairley's arrest belonged to her, per Candace Murphy of Fox10 News:

After an injury-plagued season that saw him play in only eight games while recording 14 tackles and one sack, it is unclear how much interest Fairley will generate when free agency begins March 10.

He would have been a much tougher sell with a DUI conviction attached to him, though, which is why the result of his trial has to be considered favorable as it relates to his NFL future.

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