DALLAS -- Former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd has apologized as he pleaded guilty to trying to buy cocaine and marijuana to set up a drug-distribution network.

The tall, lanky Hurd leaned into a courtroom microphone Thursday in Dallas during a plea hearing and asked to address the court. He told U.S. District Judge Jorge Solis, "I'm sorry for everything I've done."

Hurd added that he intended all along to plead guilty to the charge against him.

The 27-year-old Hurd faces a minimum 10 years in prison at sentencing in July for conspiracy to possess cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute. He was arrested in December 2011 outside a Chicago-area steakhouse after allegedly accepting a kilogram of cocaine.

Prosecutors and Hurd's attorneys have been in plea discussions for months, according to one of his attorneys, Jay Ethington. One sticking point was what allegations Hurd would acknowledge in a plea agreement, which will factor into his recommended sentence on the indictment, Ethington said in September.

Ethington told The Chicago Tribune that he plans to "vigorously contest" Hurd's sentencing, contending that the former receiver didn't engage in drug trafficking to the extent alleged by prosecutors.

"He's a marijuana freak," Ethington told the newspaper. "He loves marijuana. He's addicted to high-grade marijuana."

Ethington said Hurd was not a marijuana dealer.