A former second-round pick of the Buffalo Bills, who was convicted of conspiracy to traffic cocaine, has been pardoned by the United States government.
Former Buffalo Bills running back Travis Henry has received a Presidential Pardon from the current White House administration.
Announced on Thursday, the pardon clears Henry's 2009 drug trafficking conviction.
Back in 2008, Henry was arrested by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for his role in a trafficking ring involving the moving of cocaine between Colorado and Montana. When he was arrested, Henry faced 10 years to life in prison. However, a plea deal on the charge of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute resulted in a three-year sentence.
Henry served two years before being released after he completed a drug program while in prison. Finishing that program allowed a year to be cut from his sentence.
A second-round pick out of Tennessee by the Bills in 2001, Henry played in 13 games as a rookie, amassing 729 yards and four touchdowns.
He made his first and only Pro Bowl during his second season. Henry started all 16 games for Buffalo, rushing for a career high 1,438 yards and 13 touchdowns.
After four seasons in Buffalo and thanks to the emergence of running back Willis McGahee, Henry demanded a trade and was dealt to the Tennessee Titans in 2005 for a third-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.
When he was traded, Bills President Tom Donahoe said that the team wasn't "interested in having players here that don't want to be here. It just creates a distraction.
"The focus should be on the football team," he said. "It shouldn't be on individuals, on contracts, players that are disgruntled."
In 2006, Henry ran for 1,211 yards with seven touchdowns, but was released after just two years with the Titans
He would sign a five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Denver Broncos in 2007. After just one season with the Broncos, one that saw him face possible suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy, Henry was released.
Upon his release, Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan said that Henry was "too inconsistent as a person."
Henry would fail another drug test in 2008 and be suspended for one year. He would never play in the NFL again.
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