The Keenan Allen legal situation in Indianapolis just took a turn for the worse. The Indianapolis Colts wide receiver, who made his Indianapolis debut on Sunday, is now facing a formally upgraded charge stemming from his OWI arrest, and the NFL could soon have a decision to make.

ESPN’s Stephen Holder obtained an affidavit that revealed Allen’s blood alcohol level was high enough to warrant the charge being upgraded to a Class A misdemeanor. Adam Schefter confirmed on social media that Allen has been formally charged.

View this post on Instagram

What the NFL could do next

So the immediate question becomes: what is the NFL going to do about this?

Allen is not due back in court until the end of October, but as Holder laid out in his report, the NFL’s standard discipline for substance abuse violations is a 3-game suspension. Holder also noted that in past cases involving more egregious offenses, particularly when blood alcohol content was elevated beyond the norm, the league has handed down stiffer penalties.

This situation is far from over

The truth is, this is not going away. It seems like the state of Indiana intends to prosecute, and given the severity of Allen’s condition at the time of the arrest, the NFL will likely have to determine whether a suspension is warranted and how many games it should span.

For Indianapolis, the timing is far from ideal. Allen was brought in to bolster a receiving corps that needed a veteran presence, and losing him for any stretch of games would put a dent in those plans. Sunday’s game was already one most Colts fans would rather forget, and this news only adds to the cloud hanging over the early part of their season.

We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops, but for now, that is the latest on Keenan Allen and the Indianapolis Colts.