National Football League

Former Patriot arrested in Chicago on drug charges

Published May. 8, 2011 7:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

Former NFL player Mack Herron is in police custody after being charged with heroin possession in Chicago.

The 62-year-old played for the New England Patriots in the 1970s and Kansas State before that. The team's web site says he set a 1974 NFL record with 2,444 all-purpose yards, shattering a 1966 record held by Chicago Bears legend Gale Sayers.

Chicago police say they spotted Herron on Friday near an abandoned building with a tinfoil packet containing heroin. They say Herron has been arrested some 20 times and served jail time, mainly on drug convictions.

Bail is set at $25,000.

No phone listing for Herron could be found Sunday.