4 Lions Players Suspended For Gambling; 2 Of Them Released
Four current Detroit Lions players have been suspended by the National Football League on Friday morning for violations of the league's policy on gambling.
Wide receivers Jameson Williams, Stanley Berryhill III, and Quintez Cephus were suspended by the league. Defensive back C.J. Moore was also suspended by the NFL.
Williams and Berryhill were suspended for six games by the league, while Moore and Cephus got at least a one-year suspension.
In response to Friday's announcement, the Lions announced that Cephus and Moore have been released by the team.
Lions vice president and general manager had this to say about the suspensions and releases:
"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, 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."
Williams was one of the Lions two first-round picks last year (Aidan Hutchinson was the other). But he didn't play until late in the season due to a knee injury suffered in his last college game at Alabama in the National Championship game in January of 2022.
Berryhill spent a majority of last season with the Lions on the practice squad. He was active for four games but did not have any receptions or any other statistics.
Cephus was the team's fifth-round pick in 2020 out of Wisconsin. He played in four games last season before getting injured in the team's 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. He had two receptions for 15 yards in that contest.
Moore was undrafted out of Ole Miss in 2019, and has spent three of his four seasons in the pros with the Lions. He appeared in 11 games last season after being released by the Houston Texans.