NFL Suspends 5 Players for Violating League’s Gambling Policy

• Five players have been suspened by the NFL for violating the league’s gambling policy
• The Detroit Lions were handed four suspensions, while the Washington Commanders recevied one
• Read on for more on the latest NFL suspensions here

On Friday, the NFL announced the suspensions of five players who all violated the league’s gambling policy. The suspensions included four players from the Detroit Lions and one from the Washington Commanders.

Jameson Williams, Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill and CJ Moore were suspended from the Lions and Shaka Toney from the Commanders.

The NFL’s gambling policy prohibits all NFL employees from participating in any form of gambling whether it be in a team venue or practice facility.

Cephus, Moore and Toney have been suspended indefinitely for gambling directly on NFL games. However, Williams and Berryhill were found to have wagered on college games, which doesn’t violate the policy. However, doing so at a team facility does. They can participate in offseason and preseason activities until their suspension take affect in August after the final roster cutdowns.

Players suspended indefinitely can apply for reinstatement next year in April.

One important note is that the NFL investigation uncovered no proof that games had been compromised with any inside information.

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Detroit Lions Suspensions

The Lions’ receiving corps suffered the biggest hit here with three of their four suspensions coming at the wide receiver position.

• Jameson Williams, six games (WR)
• Quintez Cephus, indefinite (WR)
• Stanley Berryhill, six games (WR)
• CJ Moore, indefinite (S)

From @NFLNetwork: On the major gambling suspensions this morning — those suspended at least a year were found to have gambling on NFL games. Those suspended six games placed bets on college games but from their facility. pic.twitter.com/dzHWZst5Yz

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2023

Williams is the biggest loss among the group. Detroit traded up in last year’s draft to take the Alabama receiver at number 12 overall. He was slated to be a starter on the Lions depth chart this season.

Cephus had played in 22 games with the Lions but only four last year due to injury, while Berryhill also only particiapted in four games last season. Moore had made 56 appearanes for the team since 2019, but was not a starter.

Detroit management acted quickly upon this news and released both Cephus and Moore. With their releases, plus the six-game suspensions of Jameson and Berryhill, Detroit now has seven active WRs on the roster that can start Week 1. Those include Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds, Tom Kennedy, Kalif Raymond, Trinity Benson, Marvin Jones Jr and Maurice Alexander.

"Clearly the message about gambling wasn't delivered very well."

Today on #LombardiLine, @mlombardiNFL, and @FemiAbebefe discuss the #NFL suspensions for violating gambling policy and if the punishments were too harsh.

For more, visit https://t.co/3zTr7PT34B pic.twitter.com/o7z59dAQZO

— VSiN (@VSiNLive) April 21, 2023

When analyzing NFL Draft odds, this could factor into the equation for which position the Lions could shift their focus to next week.

Detroit had also previously let go of several members of their staff in various departments who had also been involved in gambling.

Washington Commanders Suspensions

Washington was handed just the single suspension of Toney. Toney was a seventh round pick in 2021 and played in just four games last season.

• Shaka Toney, indefinite (DE)

Lions Odds Remain Unchanged

While these NFL suspensions for the Lions (and to a lesser extent the Commanders) will surely necessitate some considerations in the NFL Draft and free agency, none of them are significant enough to affect the NFL futures markets. Even without Williams for six games, he only played in six games last season after being injured. He caught one of nine passes for 41 yards and a touchdown.

Just looking at the Lions, their NFL Division odds are still hovering around +140, still making them clear favorites in the NFC North ahead of Minnesota at +250. While their Super Bowl odds are still in the neighborhood of +2500.

The Commanders remain longshots to win the NFC East at +900 at DraftKings.