EXCLUSIVE

Good news, bad news for Cleveland Browns star Antonio Callaway -- officials have DROPPED the drug possession charge against him stemming from a 2018 weed arrest.

BUT ... he just got sentenced to probation for driving on a suspended license.

As we previously reported, the 22-year-old wide receiver was pulled over in Ohio at 2:59 AM on August 5 for a routine traffic violation.

During the stop, cops found a small amount of weed, gun parts and bullets in Antonio's Dodge Charger -- and he was cited for weed possession and driving on a suspended license.

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Callaway told the officers the weed was not his -- it was left over from someone else who had been driving the car. Antonio's attorney, Kevin Spellacy, tells us the amount of weed in the car was so "insignificant" it became clear to prosecutors they "couldn't make a case on the drugs."

Now, we've learned Callaway appeared in court on January 25 -- where prosecutors decided to drop the weed charge but pursued the suspended license situation.

Callaway pled guilty to the license charge and was sentenced to 1 year probation and was ordered to pay around $400 in fines, plus other court fees.

There's more ... Callaway also pled guilty in court to a speeding charge he picked up for a SEPARATE incident in the fall -- when he was busted for going 58 mph in a 35 mph zone before the Browns played the Chargers on Oct. 14.

Court records show Callaway was ordered to pay a fine in that case.

Bottom line -- he's basically out of the woods ... as long as he keeps his nose clean for the next year.