The Packers also added two defensive ends in April’s draft

The same can't really be said for the defensive lineman's future with the Green Bay Packers.

Jolly, who was indefinitely suspended last month by the NFL for violating the league's substance abuse policy, reached an agreement with prosecutors in his native Houston that could lead to the long-standing drug possession case against him being dismissed.

Jolly received a one-year pretrial diversion, a form of probation that will have the charge against him dismissed in a year if he doesn't break the law and completes other requirements, including 160 hours of community service. Part of the community service will be 10 speaking engagements where he will talk to children and others about the dangers of drug use.

The agreement was reached as Jolly's trial was set to begin this week. He had been facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

But even if Jolly avoids jail time, it's unclear whether he'll play again for the Packers after his suspension, which will last at least through this season.

"We're not going to speculate about that right now," general manager Ted Thompson said. "Johnny's got a lot of work to do and we've got a lot of work to do here."

Jolly was charged with possession of a controlled substance — having at least 200 grams of codeine — after being arrested in July 2008 in the parking lot of a Houston club known for drug and gun use. In Jolly's car, police found cups that had a codeine mixture.

"I was disappointed for him," Thompson said. "I like Johnny, and I hope he comes through this OK."

Along with the community service, Jolly will undergo random drug and alcohol testing. He can't drink alcohol and is barred from bars, nightclubs or other businesses, except for restaurants, that serve alcohol. He also must notify the court when he takes prescription medication.

Jolly was a fixture at left defensive end last season, starting all 16 games for the second straight year and making 75 tackles, which led the team's defensive line. He also had 11 passes defensed, the highest total in the league for a defensive lineman.

With Jolly suspended, Green Bay has moved Ryan Pickett over from nose tackle to end, with B.J. Raji, the team's top pick last year, ready to start in the middle. The Packers also added two defensive ends in April's draft, second-rounder Mike Neal and seventh-rounder C.J. Wilson.

We were pretty good last year, but some of the performances we had toward the end of the year, especially in the last playoff game, we don't feel good about it at all," defensive lineman Cullen Jenkins said. "We know that there's a lot of room for improvement."

It was the defense that led to the Packers' early playoff exit last year, and it's the defense that will make or break the team's Super Bowl hopes this season.

And if anyone is looking for extra motivation during the dog days of training camp, all they need to do is remember the collapse in the Arizona desert in the biggest game of the year.

"It was a lesson learned," safety Nick Collins said. "We were young under B.J. Raji a new system. We just ran out of gas at the wrong time."

Players aren't usually interested in dwelling on the past, but in this case, the Packers hope something good can come from that game.

"Any failure can be used as motivation, and if you don't take it as a mistake and try to correct it and be excited about changing it around, you're taking a step back," linebacker Nick Barnett said. "So we definitely can use that as motivation."

So, what went wrong?

The Packers collided with red-hot quarterback Kurt Warner, who completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards as the Cardinals scored on six of their first seven possessions. The Packers fell behind 17-0 in the first quarter and couldn't stop the Cardinals' momentum.

"We made a lot of mistakes, just stupid stuff we were doing good all year long," Barnett said. "We just had too many of them by too many different people."