There’s never a good time to get cited for marijuana possession if you have aspirations of playing in the NFL, but three days prior to the NFL Draft is especially terrible timing.

That’s the situation University of Missouri outside linebacker/defensive end Shane Ray finds himself in, after being pulled over by Missouri State Highway Patrol early Monday morning for speeding. Cpl. Scott White, a police spokesman, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that during a routine traffic stop on I-70 at 5:46 a.m on Monday, an officer detected a marijuana scent emanating from Ray’s Chrysler 300, which caused the officer to search the vehicle. That search yielded a “personal amount” of marijuana, found in a small compartment in the car.

The 21-year-old Ray was arrested and charged with a Class A misdemeanor for possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana, an offense that could earn him up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. According to the police report, Ray was also ticketed for a Class C misdemeanor for failing to drive in the right lane of a highway with two or more lanes, and was issued a warning for speeding.

Though he was arrested, because he did not show signs of impairment, Ray was not taken to a police station and booked into custody. He was instead released at the scene on a signature summons. White noted that Ray was fully cooperative, and was allowed to drive away from the scene. He now awaits a June 30th court date in Cooper County, Missouri.

But Ray’s long-term fate will be determined long before that, as he will learn on Thursday and perhaps into Friday just how much draft position, and consequently how much money, he has cost himself with this latest transgression. Ray released a statement late Monday night apologizing for his poor decision-making.

“I’d like to apologize to my Mother, Fans and prospective NFL teams for my poor judgement Monday morning,” Ray said in the statement. “I am embarrassed and realize there are consequences for my actions. I was not under the influence nor impaired, therefore I was not detained. Fortunately, Monday’s incident only resulted in a citation. I will make better choices in the future.

“It is imperative that I continue to strive to better myself. My future NFL career has been something I have always dreamed about and is very important to me. I commit that my actions will represent that. There are no excuses here and I will take the necessary steps to ensure this will not happen again. I will not jeopardize my ability to have a positive impact on and off the field moving forward.”

Ray, the 2014 SEC Defensive Player of the Year, enters the 2015 NFL Draft as one of the top pass rushing prospects in his class after setting a single-season school record as a junior in 2014, with 14.5 sacks, third most in the nation. However, his draft status had already been drawn into question last week when reports surfaced that a toe injury suffered in the Citrus Bowl, which forced him to forgo workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine and led to a poor showing at his pro day, might require surgery.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported after speaking with Ray that the injury will not need surgery and that Ray would simply need to continue rehabbing through a team’s rookie mini-camp in order to be ready for training camp.

“It took two months after I got it smashed in the Bowl game for the swelling to go down and then it was just eight days before the combine and my pro day wasn’t quite what I wanted,” Ray said. “More of a bad turf toe. The rehab has been about getting the toe released some from where it’s aligned with the joint but the doctor says I won’t need the surgery. Teams are pretty well informed about this and I should be ready to go this year.”

However the injury was enough to make teams question Ray’s status as a potential Top 10 pick and Monday’s run-in with the law just adds to the list of concerns teams have about the Missouri pass rusher. NFL Network’s Albert Breer also reported on Monday that information obtained by five NFL teams revealed that Ray had previously failed a drug test early in his time at Missouri, an issue teams were willing to overlook prior to Monday’s arrest. But the combination of incidents will likely make teams even more leery of Ray.

It doesn’t take much to push a player down draft boards as the draft approaches and it appears a perfect storm of setbacks in the week leading up to the draft might cost this prospect dearly.

DUI CHARGE AGAINST DRAFT PROSPECT P.J. WILLIAMS DROPPED

While one NFL Draft prospect saw his status take a hit thanks to a run-in with the law, another learned on Monday that his own poor decision-making won’t cost him as much as originally believed.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday that charges have been dropped against Florida State cornerback P.J. Williams stemming from an April 3rd DUI arrest in Tallahassee. Jonathan Simon, an attorney for Williams, told ESPN that the Florida state attorney’s office determined there was not sufficient evidence to charge Williams and that the evidence obtained refuted the original police report.

“Although the officer had probable cause for the defendant’s arrest, the evidence before the State is not sufficient to sustain a conviction at trial,” the state attorney’s office wrote, citing that the positioning of the officer’s patrol vehicle left the state with insufficient video evidence to charge Williams.

Williams was initially pulled over in a rental car early on the morning of Friday, April 3rd. The police report stated that Williams came to a stop at a green light, then made an illegal left turn and swerved over the lane divider “several times” in the process. The arresting officer said Williams, who was driving on a suspended license, spoke with slurred speech, had red and watery eyes and needed to brace himself against the door of the vehicle after being asked to exit the car. Williams then refused a field sobriety test and later refused to give a breath sample. He was arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

He plead not guilty to the charge and Monday’s dismissal cleared Williams from the latest incident. However this was far from his first traffic offense. Williams was also involved in a traffic accident in Tallahassee in October, in which he reportedly fled from a head on collision but was later charged with just two traffic tickets, according to a New York Times report. Williams was also driving on a suspended license at the time of that incident.

Despite his off the field misgivings, and his seeming status as one of the world’s worst drivers, Williams is one of the top-rated cornerbacks in a strong draft class at the position. The 2013 defensive MVP of the BCS National Championship game finished up his college career with another strong season in 2014, recording an interception, a forced fumble, 10 passes defended, a sack and 74 tackles, including 6.5 for loss.

However character concerns have caused Williams to be rated below several comparable talents at the cornerback position, dropping him from a possible Top 15 pick down all the way to a likely second round status. Given his history, it’s unlikely Monday’s dismissal carries much weight with teams monitoring him prior to the draft. Williams is still a big risk, one unlikely to be taken on Day 1 of the draft.

RG III HEADLINES FIFTH-YEAR OPTION PICKUPS

Next Monday is the deadline for teams to pick up the fifth-year option on players drafted in the first round of the 2012 draft, but a few teams have made their decisions public in advance of this year’s draft.

Among them was the Washington Redskins, who announced they will exercise the $16.1 million fifth-year option on quarterback Robert Griffin III to keep him with the team through the 2016 season.

The enigmatic Griffin enters his fourth season in the league in 2015 still looking to meet the potential that made him the second overall pick in the 2012 draft and the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year in his first NFL season. Since that breakout rookie campaign, Griffin’s play, which has been notably marred by injuries, has proven disappointing. However coach Jay Gruden has already named Griffin his starting quarterback for 2015 and expects the quarterback to be better with more time in his system.

“I think just coming back with more knowledge of the system, more confidence of where he’s supposed to throw, getting the ball out of his hands on time,” Gruden said. “We’ll work with his footwork and his accuracy, and all that good stuff. The big thing is decision making: where to go with the ball and why, and this will help his decisiveness.”

Last season, Griffin played in just nine games, mostly due to injury, and started just seven of them. He posted the highest completion percentage of his career at 68.7 percent, but averaged just 188 yards passing per game and threw just four touchdowns to six interceptions. The quarterback, who came into the league with dominant dual-threat potential, has also seen his running numbers drop off dramatically since suffering a knee injury at the conclusion of his rookie season. After rushing for 815 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, he ran for just 176 yards and one score last season.

Though injury concerns linger over Griffin and that his history makes picking up the fully guaranteed option a risk, it wasn’t a large enough risk for the Redskins to decline, which would have made Griffin a free agent after the upcoming season. Instead they’ll have two more seasons to determine whether the player they traded three first rounders for can ever return to the level of play that made him a breakout star as a rookie.

Also among those who saw their fifth-year options exercised on Monday were Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Fletcher Cox, the 12th overall pick and St. Louis Rams defensive lineman Michael Brockers, the 14th overall pick. Both players have established themselves as elite talents on the defensive front since being selected by their respective teams, making the option pickups a no-brainer for each.

Cox had just four sacks last season, but had a forced fumble and three recoveries, and his presence helped the Eagles lead the league in fumbles forced/recovered and finish second in sacks. His play also drew great praise from Eagles coach Chip Kelly late in the season after he was snubbed from the Pro Bowl.

“I think he’s been our top player. He’s been really unblockable at times. I think he’s a very disruptive force. But sometimes you make the Pro Bowl I guess on reputation,” Kelly told Philadelphia Magazine. “He may be our most valuable player overall to be honest with you.”

Like Cox, Brockers’ numbers don’t jump off the page, and he finished last season with just two sacks and one fumble recovery. But his status as an important part of St. Louis’ dominant defensive line is undeniable. He’s teamed with 2011 first round pick Robert Quinn and 2014 first round pick Aaron Donald to form the league’s best defensive front and the offseason addition of Nick Fairley is likely to make each piece even stronger as part of the group.

Brockers is one of two 2012 first rounders on the Rams roster, and they won’t be picking up the option on the other, safety Mark Barron. Barron, the seventh overall pick in that draft by the Buccaneers, has been largely disappointing so far in his NFL career. The Rams acquired the safety at the trade deadline last year in exchange for fourth and sixth round picks in the upcoming draft. Barron went on to play in the final nine games for the Rams, but started just two and didn’t make enough of an impression to get the $8.2 million option picked up. St. Louis will have one more season to assess what they have in Barron before he becomes a free agent.