National Football League

Missouri Highway Patrol: Shane Ray cited for pot possession

Published Apr. 27, 2015 10:48 p.m. ET

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) NFL prospect Shane Ray has been issued a misdemeanor citation after a trooper found a small amount of marijuana in the defensive end's car.

The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Ray was the SEC defensive player of the year at Missouri. He's expected to be an early pick this week in the NFL draft, though St. Louis Rams general manager Les Snead said the arrest would prompt NFL teams to delve further into Ray's history.

''No. 1, you don't move him on the board,'' Snead said. ''You may put a cautionary sticker obviously on him.

''You do have to go back and follow up, do maybe a little work on the character ... and try to figure that out.''

The Rams have the 10th pick of the draft, which begins Thursday night. They likely were not in the market for Ray, given they have five former first-round picks on the defensive line.

''We have a short amount of time to get as much information as we can and then we'll discuss the information that we have and we'll adjust it accordingly,'' coach Jeff Fisher said.

Corporal Scott White with the Missouri Highway Patrol says a trooper pulled Ray over on Interstate 70 west of Columbia early Monday morning for speeding.

White says the trooper searched the car after smelling the odor of marijuana. Ray was cited for possession of 35 grams or less of marijuana and for a traffic violation.

White says Ray was cooperative, showed no signs of impairment and was released with a summons to appear in Cooper County court in June.

Ray, his mother and his agent did not immediately return messages from the Columbia Daily Tribune seeking comment.