COVINGTON, Ky. -- Cincinnati Bengals receiver Jerome Simpson could receive a 60-day jail sentence after pleading guilty Thursday to a drug-related felony charge as part of an agreement with prosecutors, further clouding his future in the NFL.

Jerome Simpson's flip over a Cardinals defender and into the end zone was one of the NFL season's indelible highlights. Frank Victores/US Presswire

A judge will decide next month whether to accept the prosecutors' recommendation or give him a more lenient sentence.

The four-year veteran is a free agent after completing his contract with the Bengals. His guilty plea could bring a suspension from the league, which would make him less attractive on the free-agent market.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email Thursday that the case will be reviewed under the league's substance abuse policy.

Simpson wore a dark gray suit and stood with his hands in his pockets for a hearing Thursday in Kenton County Circuit Court aimed at concluding a drug case that has hung over him since September, when a package containing approximately two pounds of marijuana was delivered to his home in northern Kentucky.

The package had been tracked by agents from California. Authorities later searched Simpson's home and found approximately another pound of marijuana, county Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders said after the hearing Thursday. He was indicted on a felony charge of marijuana trafficking. The agreement changes the charge -- still a Class D felony -- to a prohibited act relating to controlled substances.

"I don't think Mr. Simpson deserves any special treatment one way or the other," Sanders said after the hearing. "He doesn't deserve any special breaks. He doesn't deserve any harsher punishment."

Judge Gregory Bartlett can accept the proposed 60-day jail term or reduce it at a sentencing hearing April 5. Bartlett told Simpson that he wants a full disclosure of what happened in the case at the sentencing hearing.

Simpson and lawyer Burr Travis left the courtroom immediately after the hearing without any comment. Later, Travis said in a phone interview that he would present witnesses at the sentencing hearing.

"We're going to give the court and the commonwealth a different side of Jerome Simpson," Travis said. "The decision is strictly up to the judge."

The agreement also calls for three years' probation, 200 hours of community service and drug treatment.

The agreement stipulates that there is no evidence Simpson was dealing marijuana. Sanders said Simpson had the marijuana for personal use and was probably sharing it with friends.