MINNEAPOLIS -- Randy Moss whistled his way out of jail -- and back into the Minnesota Vikings' starting lineup.

Fines will be levied

The Vikings will not remove recalcitrant wide receiver Randy Moss from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, but will take nearly $50,000 out his wallet. At least temporarily. League and team sources confirmed for ESPN.com on Wednesday that the Vikings on Thursday will levy a variety of fines against Moss, including one game paycheck for the catch-all "conduct detrimental to the team" violation. Moss earns a base salary of $525,000 this season, and one game paycheck is worth $30,882, or one-seventeenth of his salary. Moss also will be fined for missing Wednesday's team meeting, for missing a weight training session and for arriving late to practice after being released from jail. According to the Minnesota team fine schedule, those infractions total $18,500, bringing the total for the four fines to $49,382. Moss's agent, Dante DiTrapano, told The Associated Press on Thursday that Moss was fined for missing the team meeting and missing part of practice, but the team hadn't set the fine amount yet. Most players either fined or suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team" appeal the sanctions through the NFL Players Association and it's not unusual to have the fines overturned or reduced. A fifth-year veteran, Moss will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to discuss his arrest, in which he allegedly nudged a traffic control officer with his car. He was charged Wednesday with two misdemeanors and will likely face a minimal charge for having a small amount of marijuana in his car. Although the charges amount to a slap on the wrist, Moss still is under the purview of the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league is investigating the incident and Moss could face sanctions by the commissioner if he is found guilty or pleads guilty to the charges. -- Len Pasquarelli

Facing a possible felony for assault, the star receiver was charged only with two misdemeanors Wednesday for allegedly pushing a traffic officer a half-block with his car Tuesday.

He spent the night in jail and faces a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine on each of the charges -- careless driving and failure to obey a traffic officer. Deputy City Attorney Dana Banwer said Moss will be arraigned Oct. 2.

Police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington said the officer stepped in front of Moss' car to stop him from making an illegal turn. Moss slowly pushed her along the street, stopping when she fell.

Authorities considered charging Moss with felony assault, but county attorney Amy Klobuchar said there wasn't enough evidence that Moss intended to hurt the officer to support the charge.

Barrington said 27-year-old Amy Zaccardi -- a city employee but not a police officer -- was not seriously hurt. One witness called the situation "surreal." Another said he didn't believe Moss intended to hurt Zaccardi.

"I was really confused about what I was supposed to do," Moss said as he left jail Wednesday.

He said he was treated with respect in jail, but added, "It was lonely. It was nervewracking."

Whistling as he walked through a pack of reporters, he refused to discuss the arrest further, saying, "You'll hear about it later."

Robert Nelson, a witness, said, Moss "was going really slow. Apparently, he didn't want to hurt her. I think he was just trying to frighten her into moving."

Jerry Hullerman said he was parked near the intersection when he saw Moss driving his car.

"I saw a really decked-out Lexus pushing the traffic person along," said Hullerman, who was also interviewed by police. "It was really surreal."

He said Zaccardi was facing forward while sitting on the front of the car with one hand on the hood and the other hand on her radio as the car pushed her along.

After a few seconds, Hullerman said, the man in the car tapped the accelerator and knocked her down.

"She fell flat on her face,'' Hullerman said, adding that the driver didn't get out of his car.

Hullerman said squad cars arrived seconds later and officers took Moss into custody.

Police also said they found a small quantity of marijuana in Moss' car, an amount that would qualify as a petty misdemeanor, but no charge was immediately filed.

Both Moss's agent, Dante DiTrapano, and his attorney, Joe Friedberg, said the marijuana didn't belong to Moss. Friedberg said Moss has five cars and four other people had driven his Lexus recently. He said he planned to fight the traffic charges.

Coach Mike Tice said Moss will start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks but will be disciplined for missing Wednesday morning's practice. Tice didn't specify the punishment. DiTrapano said Moss was fined for missing a meeting and missing part of practice, but the team hadn't set the fine amount yet.

"I'm still disappointed," Tice said. "This doesn't change the fact that we've been dealing with this for the last 24 hours, that I slept very little last night and I ate a half a jar of Maalox."

A source within the Vikings organization told ESPN on Wednesday night that the team will fine Moss the maximum amount league rules allow, as much as $50,000, as a result of his arrest.

Tice said Moss apologized to his teammates and coaches after practice Wednesday. "You hate to see this stuff happen to him because he's a good guy," said defensive tackle Chris Hovan. "He's respected in this locker room."

The NFL could be less forgiving. Under NFL rules, Moss will undergo mandatory "evaluation" because he was charged. Any disciplinary action would follow a conviction or guilty plea.

League officials are familiar with the 25-year-old's antics. Moss squirted a referee with a water bottle in 1999 -- which resulted in a $25,000 fine from the league.

He also verbally abused corporate sponsors on the team bus in 2001. The last infraction resulted in the team fining him $15,000 and forcing him to attend anger management classes.

Moss had problems on and off the field before he even got into the NFL.

He had a scholarship revoked by Notre Dame in 1995 after being charged with beating up a high school classmate in Rand, W.Va. Moss pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was allowed to defer most of the sentence until after his freshman year in college.

He went to Florida State, where he redshirted his freshman season but was kicked off the team for violating probation by smoking marijuana. That got him a one-year jail sentence, which was reduced to about one month of time served.

Virtually out of chances, Moss walked on at Marshall and quickly became a star.

Moss, in his fifth year with the Vikings, became the team's highest-paid player last season when he signed an eight-year, $75 million contract.

Moss set an NFL record with 5,396 yards receiving in his first four seasons as a pro and is the only wide receiver with more than 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first four seasons. Moss has scored more touchdowns since his 1998 debut than anyone except St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk.