Patriots' Patrick Chung Pleads Not Guilty to Cocaine Possession and Waives Arraignment

Well, that worked out incredibly well for the New England Patriots. Have we heard that before?

Safety Patrick Chung was slapped with a cocaine possession charge earlier this month but the news came out last week. His arraignment was scheduled for this week, but there's been a big change in the schedule of the upcoming legal proceedings.

Oh, how convenient. Now, Chung's next court date won't take place until the Patriots bye week. Then again, given the bizarre circumstances of the incident, his legal representation is going to do everything in its power to fight the felony charge. While this protracted process will loom over the Patriots, the good news for them is that this case probably won't produce any fallout this year.

Police responded to a "call for service" at Chung's residence back in late June and ended up finding the evidence that resulted in his indictment, so you can bet the defense will be working hard to prove it was unlawfully obtained, especially since Chung wasn't even home at the time.

Given that the NFL has been waiting for the legal process to play out before making a decision on disciplining a player, expect Chung to see plenty of the field this year.