Mikel Leshoure knows he has nobody to blame but himself.
The Detroit Lions running back tainted his reputation and got hit with a two-game suspension Wednesday after two arrests earned him a starring role in Detroit's bad-boy offseason. Leshoure also will forfeit two additional game checks.
"I'm definitely not happy about it," Leshoure said Thursday, via the Detroit Free Press. "I would love to be out there with my team, but I understand the consequences you have to face when you do wrong. I know one thing for sure and one thing for certain: I definitely learned from my mistakes. Still putting it behind me but got to accept it and move forward. Just come back that third game and put it in the past."
Leshoure was arrested twice over a one-month span in February and March for possession of marijuana, pleading guilty to lesser charges in both cases.
It's an unnecessary hurdle for Leshoure, who already is facing the difficult task of being a running back attempting to return from a torn Achilles' tendon that cost him his rookie season.
Leshoure has been restricted to position drills most of the offseason, but ran pass routes in 7-on-7 drills and took handoffs in team run drills during minicamp.
"We wanted to get him some carries," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "He had been in individual period when he was able. He had been sore at different times, but he had had a good week last week and was feeling really good."
Leshoure said that his legal issues taught him he has "to be careful" (read into that how you will), and that his actions "reflect on the Detroit Lions, University of Illinois, my family, my teammates, everyone."
