ATLANTA -- Law enforcement authorities in Forsyth, Ga., on Monday dropped all charges against Dallas Cowboys defensive end Peppi Zellner, after his brother told a local magistrate that he was responsible for a bag of cocaine thrown from a car in which both men were riding last week.

Zellner and his brother, Mannon Zellner, were originally charged with possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute after their arrest last Thursday by a multi-county narcotics task force. Peppi Zellner was then released on $5,000 bond and his representatives insisted that the charges would be dropped no later than Monday.

That, indeed, proved to be the case. Zellner's agents on Monday evening lauded the professionalism of district attorney Mark Anthony. The move to drop the charges came shortly after Mannon Zellner, appearing in an open court proceeding, said the drugs belonged to him.

Mannon Zellner remains in jail with no bail set on the charge.

Peppi Zellner, 27, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the month. The four-year veteran, who played at Fort Valley State, was a fourth-round choice in the 1999 draft.