GREEN BAY, Wis. -- A year ago, Letroy Guion was playing the best football of his career and was about to cash in on a long-term contract with the Green Bay Packers.

Then, as Guion put it on Tuesday, “The walls fell down.”

Contract talks were immediately shelved following his Feb. 2 arrest for possession of marijuana and a firearm in Starke, Fla., and when the case was resolved a month later with a $5,000 fine, he signed only a one-year deal.

Since returning from a three-game NFL suspension to start the season, which cost him $480,330 in forfeited salary and bonus, Guion is still looking to return to his 2014 form.

“It was one of the best parts of my career, last year,” said Guion, who is in his eighth NFL season and second with the Packers. “Right now, I’ve just got to get in there and do everything I can do when I get in there.”

Guion’s stats -- 22 tackles, zero sacks and one quarterback hit and five QB hurries -- barely resemble last season, when he recorded career highs in tackles (62) and sacks (3.5). He also was playing his natural nose tackle position last year in the absence of the injured B.J. Raji and ranked second on the defensive line in snap-count percentage (51.1 percent).

With Raji back, defensive coordinator Dom Capers moved Guion to end -- although at times the two play together as the interior tackles in the two-linemen nickel package -- and his playing time has been reduced to 42.8 percent of the snaps in games for which he’s been eligible. In the last three games, Guion has played just 58 of 199 snaps (29.1 percent).

“I would love to get back to that position to get the playing time and publicity that I was getting so that I could back to talking about a long-term deal with Green Bay,” Guion said. “I just need to keep grinding.

“I would love to be here long-term. Green Bay is one of the great organizations out there. They had my back when the walls fell down, and I just owe a great deal to this team and to work hard and come to work and do everything I can do to help this team win.”

That’s his focus now that his legal issues have been resolved -- although he still hasn’t gotten back the $190,028.81 in cash and his 2015 Dodge Ram truck back that policed seized during the arrest. His civil forfeiture case is still pending in a Florida court.

“The year started slow, but it’s picking up,” Guion said. “Just keeping my head straight, staying focused on my job and what I’ve got to do. Staying focused is the main part. It’s very important.

“Missing the first three games and then having to get back in the groove of things, not starting when everybody else started, not getting the stats you want, but just staying the course and staying focused and keep grinding.”