Former Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney found not guilty on felony assault charge

Former Vikings cornerback Jeff Gladney was found not guilty by a jury in an assault case in Dallas County, Texas, on Thursday, according to the clerk's office.

Gladney, a 2020 first-round pick, was facing a felony assault charge stemming from an altercation with a woman last April. He was released by the Vikings in August, hours after detailed allegations became public in an indictment on a third-degree family violence assault charge.

The jury deliberated for about two hours, according to court records. Gladney's attorney, Morris Overstreet, did not immediately return a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

The indictment said Gladney, then 24, and a 22-year-old woman were arguing over the content of a cellphone in a vehicle. Gladney was accused of grabbing and squeezing her neck and throat, striking and forcing her "to and against a vehicle window."

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the league is still assessing possible punishment for Gladney, who has not played since starting 15 games for the Vikings as a rookie in 2020.

"We have been monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review of the personal conduct policy," McCarthy wrote in an e-mail.

According to the personal conduct policy, violations that involve felony assault or domestic violence are subject a baseline suspension without pay of six games for the first offense. Even a player who is charged but not convicted may be found to have violated the policy "if the credible evidence establishes that he engaged in prohibited conduct."

Gladney remains a defendant in a civil lawsuit brought by the woman, in which a hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1. The woman is seeking more than $1 million in damages. In the suit, she alleges Gladney "punched, choked and abused" her for more than two hours on the night of April 1, 2021, and later attempted to bribe and threaten her into silence.

Gladney has not commented publicly outside of a social media post in June in which he wrote: "Still hard to believe this girl tryna ruin my life because I wouldn't be with her ... What makes it worse is the actual truth will never be out there."