The man charged in the shooting death of former CFL and NFL running back Joe McKnight appeared at a hearing in the New Orleans suburb of Gretna, Louisiana on Monday afternoon.

Local TV station WWL-TV is reporting Ronald Gasser, who has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, was originally scheduled to go on trial Aug. 7 but his appearance today was changed to a hearing.

According to the station, court records show a motion hearing that was originally set for July 14 was being held on Monday instead. WWL-TV said the trial was delayed after a state witness could not make it to a hearing in July.

A court official confirmed the hearing got underway at about 2 p.m. local time at Division K of The Twenty Fourth Judicial District Court.

Authorities have said McKnight and Gasser drove erratically and yelled at each other before the Dec. 1, 2016 shooting. The confrontation took place as they were travelling over a Mississippi River bridge in New Orleans and on roads in neighbouring Jefferson Parish.

Defence attorney Gerard Archer has called the shooting a "justifiable homicide."

McKnight played for the Edmonton Eskimos and Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2016.

Prior to joining the CFL, McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs.

According to The Times-Picayune, Gasser is scheduled to head to trial on Nov. 7.

He will return to court on Aug. 21 for a status hearing and is being held at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in lieu of a $750,000 bond.