Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith admitted to smoking marijuana before being pulled over for speeding in late September.
On police video obtained by TMZ Sports, Smith told the officer that he and teammates Rashan Gary and Kingsley Keke “had smoked earlier” in Chicago.
Smith later claimed three marijuana blunts found in a bag in the car were his, and he was issued separate tickets for speeding and possession. Neither Gary or Keke received a citation. No arrests were made and all three left after the tickets were issued.
The admission could be important for determining whether or not Smith receives from a suspension from the NFL. Last year, Packers running back Aaron Jones was suspended for the first two games of the season after he admitted to cops that he had been smoking prior to a 2017 traffic stop.
Smith pleaded not guilty to both citations in Racine Country on Monday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The pleas were presented at court by a lawyer representing Smith.
Smith, who was voted a team captain in his first season with the Packers, has 8.5 sacks in nine games to start the 2019 season.
