College Football

Former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla escapes from jail

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:07 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, SI Wire/Sports Illustrated

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of former Oregon tight end Colt Lyerla after he escaped from a county jail, authorities told The Oregonian.

Lyerla climbed out of a first-floor window at the Washington County Community Corrections Center in Hillsboro, Oregon, Thursday afternoon, authorities said. Lyerla was two months into a six-month sentence for heroin possession.

Lyerla’s tenure at Oregon was turbulent, mark by success on the field but frequent trouble off the field. He was arrested for cocaine possession in October 2013 and subsequently left the Ducks team. He went undrafted in the 2014 NFL draft but signed as a free agent with the Packers. He was released after injuring his knee in training camp and had a brief run in the Arena Football League in 2015.

Lyerla now faces a second-degree felony charge for escaping custody and will be ineligible to return to a minimum-security facility.