Bills defensive tackle Marcell Dareus was absent from training camp on Monday while he appeared in an Alabama courtroom, where he told a judge he will agree to substance abuse treatment.
Dareus was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance in Alabama on May 5, and his lawyer told the Associated Press on Monday that Dareus agreeing to enter the NFL’s substance-abuse program may allow him to have those felony drug charges dismissed.
The drug possession charge was not Dareus’s only legal problem this offseason: He also was charged with reckless endangerment after an incident in which he crashed his car into a tree following an alleged drag race with teammate Jerry Hughes. Dareus has a September 9 court date in that case.
On the field, Dareus is missing practice until he can pass the team’s conditioning test, which he failed on his first attempt on Saturday.
Dareus could be facing league discipline, either under the substance-abuse policy for the drug possession arrest or the personal-conduct policy for the reckless endangerment arrest, but there has been no word from the league office about any fine or suspension.