Tragic news: One of the Green Bay Packers’ top two players is missing due to drug use, and the other has been jailed.

Tragic news: One of the Green Bay Packers’ top two players is missing due to drug use, and the other has been jailed.

Johnny Jolly, a defensive lineman for the Packers, entered a pre-trial diversion program last year in order to resolve charges of possessing codeine. If he had remained out of trouble for a year, the charges would have been dropped under the terms of the agreement.

He was unable to arrive.

Jolly has been charged with felonies related to felony possession of codeine, the active component of the beverage known as “lean” and “purple drank,” according to Sports Radio 610 in Houston and CBSHoustonTX.com.

Jolly’s Escalade was pulled over by police early on Friday for a moving infraction. It was reported that Jolly didn’t show a driver’s license; instead, she showed a state identity card. Subsequently, the police discovered that his license is suspended and cannot be renewed.

After searching Jolly’s car, the police discovered 600 grams of codeine.

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Jolly was suspended by the NFL for the entire 2010 season in July of that year. It has been reported that he started the process of being reinstated earlier this year. Coach Mike McCarthy stated earlier this week that Jolly “definitely” is still part of the team’s plans.

Given that Jolly is facing additional charges in addition to the likely allegation that he violated his diversion program, McCarthy might be referring to Jolly’s current situation in a different way.

Without a lockout, we can’t help but wonder if Jolly would have been arrested in the interim. Suspended players like Jolly are no longer the subject of surprise testing because the league has been shut down. In light of this, the lack of a compelling reason to abstain from codeine may have contributed to the most recent incident to the extent that he was tempted to use it.