After trying out with the Packers during their rookie minicamp this past weekend, the team signed TE Colt Lyerla on Monday.
It's a small risk for Green Bay, which might not have the services of tight end Jermichael Finley, who is injured and a free agent. Because while Lyerla has talent, the 6-foot-4, 242-pounder also has plenty of transgressions in his past.
As CBSSports.com wrote on his draft profile, "[He] abruptly quit the team on Oct. 6, calling his choice to leave the Ducks as a "personal decision." This occurred after missing the Ducks' Sept. 14 game against Tennessee for what Lyerla later called the stomach flu but head coach Mark Helfrich characterized simply as "circumstances." Arrested Oct. 23, 2013 when undercover police discovered inhaling a "white powdery substance" inside a car. Lyerla later admitted the substance was cocaine. This was hardly Lyerla's only run-in with police. He had his driver's license suspended Oct. 11, 2013, after receiving four driving tickets in the previous 24 months."
Lyerla has a long track record of off field issues but as he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in February, "I put myself in a position where my back's against the wall, to the point that if I don't do everything perfect and the right way, I won't be able to play football, let alone be successful in any shape or form."
The signing shows just how desperate the Packers are at tight end. Lyerla joins Andrew Quarless, Brandon Bostick, Richard Rodgers and Ryan Taylor at the position. Lyerla has a 39" vertical and posted a 4.61 40-yard dash at the Combine.
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