Green Bay – Johnny Jolly returned to the Packers and the NFL for the first time in three years Tuesday and you didn’t even have to ask how he was feeling. It was obvious from his smile and gratitude.
“I feel great. It’s a blessing to have a second chance,” he said Tuesday afternoon after the Packers completed the first day of minicamp. “I take my hat off to the Packers. That showed a lot, them accepting me after everything I had been through.”
Jolly served a suspension by the league, spent eight to nine months in prison, endured his probation and has undergone drug and addiction treatment. He said he hasn’t had codeine in 19 months.
“I’m blessed to be here,” he said.
Jolly practiced on a limited basis Tuesday with the rest of the Packers during the mandatory minicamp and said, "I have a little bit of rust to knock off." One of Jolly’s greatest fears at this point was trying to come back to football through free agency. The Packers have been protective of his privacy and welcoming as well. With players like Ryan Pickett, B.J. Raji and Aaron Rodgers checking in on him now and then by contacting his mother, he had always clung to the idea of returning to the only team he has ever played for.
“I worried about that. I thought about that, I guess that’s human nature,” said Jolly. “But I always said that the Packers would take me back. I prayed for it and it happened. This is only organization I’ve been around. I mean, I’m blessed. I am at a loss for words.”
Jolly, a sixth-round pick out of Texas A&M in 2006, was viewed by the organization from his first day of practice as a rising star.
In four seasons, Jolly started 39 of 48 games, including all 16 in '08 and '09. He didn't put up great numbers, but in '09, the first year Dom Capers' 3-4 defense was in place, he was disruptive at end and tackle and had a sack, interception and two fumble recoveries.
But then in July of 2008 he was charged with possessing more than 200 grams of codeine during a Houston traffic stop. He played through the 2009 season while prosecutors built a case against him and eventually was given pretrial diversion, a form of probation that allows for charges to be dropped in a year if no other crime is committed.
Jolly was suspended indefinitely before the start of the 2010 season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. He missed the Packers’ Super Bowl run that year.
Jolly was said to be in the process of applying for reinstatement early in 2011, but he was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute in March. Spared from prison and put on probation, Jolly was arrested again for possession of codeine in Houston that October.
"The lowest point was when I caught that last case," said Jolly. "It was like, I know I didn't do this again. It happened. I had to deal with it."
In all, Jolly was arrested three times before the last felony possession of codeine charge led a Houston judge to sentence him to six years in prison for violating his probation.
He began that term in November 2011 but was released the following May after a judge granted his application for "shock probation" - suspension of a sentence in hopes the incarceration makes the offender understand the seriousness of his situation.
When released in May 2012, Jolly expressed remorse for his actions and said he wanted to straighten out his life. He entered rehabilitation and stayed clean, eventually applying for reinstatement.
The NFL reinstated Jolly from his suspension on Feb. 27. He has been out of the league for three seasons – 2010, ’11 and ’12. Jolly turned 30 on Feb. 21.
Jolly said he had an extensive talk with GM Ted Thompson and McCarthy to explain his position and where he was now at this point of his life.
“Actually, that was the only way for me to go,” said Jolly. “To lay everything on the table and let them know where I was. How I felt. It’s best for me and it’s best for them, to know that it’s the truth and that it’s coming from my heart. I think that was a part of them signing me back – to know that I’m being honest and telling the truth.”
Jolly said he never had any such conversation with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
After he was reinstated from suspension, the Packers could have cited his $2.51 million salary as a reason to let him go. But he remains on the roster after the Packers renegotiated his contract to a reasonable $710,000, an indication that they were open to giving him a second chance.
Jolly said he stayed active and worked out but said he wasn’t sure that he’d quite call it being in football shape.
“That part, football shape, comes around camp time,” said Jolly. “I stayed active. I lifted, did some things while I could work out. I did a little basketball.”
Prison wasn't easy. He was in there with people who committed murder.
"I don't belong there; no one belongs there," said Jolly. "I mean, there are some people that do. But I communicated with a lot of guys. So I can understand - or I know why - they're there. It's not hard for me to talk to them because of why they are in there. I didn't judge them. They did the same with me."
Other prisoners knew who Jolly was and when they would work out with him, they told him to get out of jail.
"When I got there, there were a lot of guys who knew me and from Day One that was motivation. It was like, 'Man you don't belong here. Get out of here and back to the field. Get yourself together. Don't get in no trouble while you're in here, just do what you have to do.'"
Health-wise, Jolly looked good.
"I haven't had no codeine in almost two years," said Jolly. "Probably 19 months. My body feels great. I feel good, ready to play."
Jolly's locker was in the main locker room by the defensive linemen and Clay Matthews, and not in the spare locker room for tryout guys and free agents. Jolly was extremely open to questions, wasn't defensive and didn't get agitated when questioned by the media. He was a little guarded when asked if the codeine abuse was strictly in Houston, in a certain environment, or if he had to resist anything tempting, like triggers, in Green Bay as well.
"All that's behind me," said Jolly.
But this is what he said when he thinks about looking back at the Jolly who abused the drug and the Jolly who is here at practice now:
"I was a bad man," said Jolly. "It was crazy. I knew I needed to chill but it was like I was getting a thrill out of what I was doing. So I was just doing. In my heart, I was like, I need to chill, I'm a football player. I need to take care of myself. But - sometimes you lose focus and you can't get yourself back on track. So God sits you down and puts you back on track. That's what happened to me. I hate that I had to go through that, but it was a lesson learned."
When Jolly first got suspended, he said he couldn't even watch football.
"I could watch some teams but, shh, I couldn't even watch my team," said Jolly. "That bothered me. But I made it through all of that. I'm here now."
This was Jolly's first day back and he was greeted warmly by teammates, like Rodgers.
"Ryan (Pickett's) a good dude. He contacted my mother a few times," said Jolly. "A lot of guys that knew me when I was on the team - I have nothing but love for those guys. It's unexplainable for me to be in the situation that I'm in and they're still worried about me while they're working and doing what they're supposed to do, I can't explain it."
Jolly said he's got to learn a few new plays but was most concerned about getting back to a routine.
"My main thing right now is just coming out here every day and getting what I need to do down so I can be focused and more consistent in what I'm doing," said Jolly.
Stepping back on to the practice field "was excellent. It was excellent. I'm out there laughing and joking with the guys, it just felt like I never left. It was just like, man, this is a relief. Oh my God, I'm back on the field, practicing with the dudes I love to play ball with. It was great."
Packers cornerback Tramon Williams, a friend of Jolly's, said he's rooting for No. 97 again.
"First of all, I'm thankful that off the field, he's doing well," said Williams. "After this game is over, that's your life. I'm glad his life is where it needs to be. Second of all, I definitely want to see him on the field. He was a good friend of mine before all the incidents happened and I'm just glad to see him get that opportunity.
"Guys who sit out of football for two, three years - the chances of him coming back are slim to none. So for him to get that opportunity, it shows a lot of character not just for him but the Packers, giving him that second chance, which I think he deserves. He worked hard to get back to this point. When he gets back on the field, I hope he brings it back out there, too."
JSOnline wrote: