Texans receiver Jaelen Strong arrested for marijuana possession

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Texans wide receiver Jaelen Strong is in trouble with the law after being arrested just before midnight Sunday night for misdemeanor possession of marijuana in Arizona, according to Scottsdale law enforcement authorities.

A former Arizona State player who grew up in Philadelphia, Strong was booked into jail and has been released.

No court date has been set for the case, pending charges in Maricopa County Superior Court. Strong had no immediate comment about the incident.

Strong quickly informed team officials of his arrest, according to sources not authorized to speak publicly. The organization remains in the process of gathering more information, but expressed displeasure with Strong in a statement.

“The Houston Texans are aware of the incident regarding WR Jaelen Strong in Scottsdale, Ariz," Texans general manager Rick Smith said. "We are disappointed in the choices Jaelen made to put himself in this situation. We will have no further comment at this time.”

ALSO SEE: Texans coaches excited about Jaelen Strong's second season

Texans receiver Jaelen Strong was arrested for marijuana possession Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Texans receiver Jaelen Strong was arrested for marijuana possession Sunday in Scottsdale, Ariz. Photo: Scottsdale (Ariz.) Police Department Photo: Scottsdale (Ariz.) Police Department Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Texans receiver Jaelen Strong arrested for marijuana possession 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

Green Bay Packers cornerback Damarious Randall, a former teammate of Strong's at Arizona State, was driving a black Maserati and Strong was a passenger when the car was pulled over for not having visible license plates. Randall and another passenger, Brayon Colley, weren't charged with a crime and were released after the traffic stop.

According to police, a strong odor of marijuana was emanating from the car. Strong acknowledged having marijuana without a medical card. Strong was cooperative and gave police a cigar box that contained three marijuana cigarettes.

ALSO SEE: Jaelen Strong emerges as offensive weapon late in season

Strong fell in the draft to the third round partly due to NFL teams' concerns about his off-field conduct.

Until this incident, Strong had left the Texans encouraged about his progress following a rocky start to his rookie season when he reported overweight at 231 pounds.

The Texans want Strong to be a bigger part of the offense next season as a potential starter opposite Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins one year after drafting him.

After reporting overweight at 231 pounds last spring and later diligently exercising and dieting down to 197 pounds, Strong became a key contributor late in the season and finished with 14 catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

"He's an interesting story to me," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said of Strong at the NFL scouting combine. "He came into rookie minicamp right after the draft, after having really just basically trained for the combine and all the things that go into the draft process, and he was a little bit out of shape, little bit overweight.

"You know we mentioned it to him a few times, and he really took it upon himself to get in better condition, to lose weight, to learn our offense and by the end of the year he was playing pretty well for us and we believe that he has a really good future for us."

Strong caught a game-winning touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in December that propelled the Texans toward an AFC South division title. During the regular-season finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Strong caught a career-high six passes for 56 yards on seven targets.

"As a rookie, I just want to do what they tell me to do, do my job and work as hard as I can," Strong said at the close of the season. "I always had the mindset that I could be as great as I wanted to be, but I had to take my time, ease myself into things. Slow things down and take the coaching and take the coaching from the players on the field, too."