Five players will sit at least six games for violating the NFL gambling policy, including three who allegedly bet on games last season.
The NFL has suspended five players for violating the league’s gambling policy, league insider Ian Rapoport was first to report Friday.
The NFL handed the players varying suspensions. As Rapoport notes in a tweet, the Detroit Lions‘ Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill will sit for six games each. CJ Moore and Quintez Cephus, also of the Lions, as well as the Washington Commanders‘ Shaka Toney, are all suspended for at least one season. They can apply for reinstatement after the fact, the league said in a release.
This comes a season after Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley missed the entire 2022 season due to betting on NFL games in 2021 as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. The NFL reinstated him back in March.
In addition to a ban on wagering on NFL games, league policy also prohibits players from sports gambling of any kind in league or team facilities — that’s the rule that Williams and Berryhill both violated. Both can still participate in offseason and preseason team activities.
Moore, Cephus, and Toney all allegedly bet on actual NFL games, leading to stiffer suspensions. The Lions have since announced that they have released Moore and Cephus.
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“As a result of an NFL investigation, it came to our attention that a few of our players had violated the league’s gambling policy,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement. “These players exhibited decision-making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules. We have made the decision to part ways with Quintez and C.J. immediately. We are disappointed by the decision-making demonstrated by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”
The Commanders haven’t done the same with Toney as of this writing, but did acknowledge the suspension in a team statement:
“We have been made aware of the suspension of Shaka Toney,” the Commanders announced Friday. “We have cooperated fully with the NFL’s investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions. All further questions on the topic should be directed to the NFL League Office.”
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