Less than two weeks after he was released by the Green Bay Packers, tight end Colt Lyerla was in legal trouble again.
Lyerla, the troubled former Oregon Ducks player, was arrested early Saturday morning near his hometown of Hillsboro, Oregon on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, The Oregonian has reported.
It was the second time in less than a year that Lyerla was arrested on a drug-related charge. Shortly after leaving the Ducks football program in midseason last fall, he was arrested for possession of cocaine after he allegedly tried to flee police.
The Packers were the only NFL team willing to take a chance on Lyerla after he went undrafted and unsigned in free agency. They brought him to Green Bay on a tryout basis for rookie camp in May and then signed him to the roster the following week.
Although there was no indication that Lyerla had gotten into any trouble during his time with the Packers, he made little impact on the field and sustained a knee injury on Aug. 2 when he tried to hurdle a defender during a practice. He never returned to the field and was released on Aug. 26 with an eight-week injury settlement that paid him $142,588.
At the time, his agent, Vinnie Porter, did not rule out the possibility of the Packers bringing him back, although they could not do so until six weeks after the injury settlement expires, per NFL rules.
"They said they didn't think injured reserve and sitting out a whole other year would be the best thing for him," Porter said on Aug. 26. "This allows them to bring him back later this year. It also allows other teams to do the same, but they're willing to take the risk."
Porter did not return a message left on Sunday.
This weekend's arrest was not the first time he has been in the headlines since leaving Green Bay last month.
He told the website, SBNation.com, that one of the reasons he went to Oregon was because he and his family were promised a house and a car by a booster, who he said never delivered. The University of Oregon has said it will investigate Lyerla's claim.
