Former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez has been tentatively scheduled to stand trial on May 28, 2015 on murder charges in the 2012 drive-by slayings of two men.

The 24-year-old ex-NFL star is charged with fatally shooting the men over a spilled drink at a Boston nightclub two years ago. He pleaded not guilty to killing the victims, Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, reports ESPN Boston.

More than likely the case will be delayed since Hernandez is also facing a separate murder trial in October for the slaying of his friend Odin Lloyd back in June 2013.

Hernandez's defense team petitioned Judge Jeffrey Locke to issue a gag order prohibiting anyone involved in the case from commenting outside court during a hearing at the Suffolk Superior Court on Tuesday.

According to his lawyers, Hernandez would not get a fair trial because of the media coverage surrounding the double killings and his 2013 case relating to the murder of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player.

In response, prosecutors argued that they hadn't made any improper comments about the case. The judge didn't issue an immediate ruling.

During the hearing, the football star appeared relaxed, despite being briefly hospitalized over the weekend for an undisclosed problem. According to NBC News, there was no sign of visible injury.

Although Hernandez was destined to be a football superstar and was hailed as one of the NFL's most promising tight ends, he was slapped with first-degree murder charge less than a year after signing a $40 million contract extension with the New England Patriots, reports CNN.

He was dropped from the Patriots two hours after his arrest on June 26, 2013.

Hernandez is currently being held in a Massachusetts jail without bail.

Some of his close associates are also tied to the crimes and are facing serious charges.