Defensive tackle Johnny Jolly is expecting to make his long-awaited return to the Green Bay Packers after being out of football for three seasons. He was suspended indefinitely by the NFL in 2010.
Jolly tweeted Monday that he will attend the team's minicamp when it kicks off Tuesday. It is unclear if the 30-year-old will actually see the field, but after restructuring his contract in March, any step forward is a positive note for the troubled player.
Last week, coach Mike McCarthy said Jolly deserved a second chance.
"I think our society is built on second chances," McCarthy said Monday, via ESPNWisconsin.com. "Think how many times you look through the history of successful individuals that probably or maybe wouldn't have happened without a second chance. Every case is different. There's no absolute right way and wrong way when you evaluate every situation. I'm glad to see Johnny Jolly going through the process that he's going through. (I'm) very proud of where he is to this point. But he still has a lot in front of him."
Jolly was one of the Packers' best defensive linemen before being suspended indefinitely during the 2010 offseason for violating the league's substance-abuse policy. In 2011, he was sentenced to six years in jail for violating his probation following multiple arrests for felony possession of codeine. He was released in May 2012, after just six months in jail and put on "shock probation" for 10 years.
How much he brings to the playing field at this point is superfluous. The Packers' willingness to give him that second chance speaks volumes of the franchise's character. How Jolly handles the chance will show his.
UPDATE: Jolly did in fact return to the Packers' practice facility Tuesday for minicamp, according to Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.
