ALLEN PARK — The NFL announced Friday that it has suspended four Detroit Lions players, including prized receiver Jameson Williams, for violations of the league’s betting policy. The football staff and business side of the organization were also let go from the team last month for gambling, making it one of the biggest violations of the online betting era.
Williams and fellow receiver Stanley Berryhill were suspended six games for betting on non-NFL games on their cellphones inside the team facility, while another receiver, Quintez Cephus, and special teams star CJ Moore were suspended until until due to betting on NFL games. Washington’s Shaka Toney was also suspended indefinitely by the league on Friday.
It remains unclear whether Cephus and Moore bet on Lions games. They will be released from the team today, and they will not be able to apply for reinstatement to the league until next year.
Williams, Berryhill, Cephus and Moore are the first Lions players suspended for violating the league’s betting policy since defensive end Alex Karras served a one-year ban on placing bets on NFL games in 1963.
“These players demonstrated decision-making that was inconsistent with our organizational values and violated league rules,” general manager Brad Holmes said in a statement. “We have decided to part ways with Quintez and CJ. We are disappointed in the decision-making displayed by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the seriousness of these violations and have clarity on league rules moving forward.
The suspensions are the result of an NFL investigation that has been ongoing for at least a month, and the Lions are believed to be fully cooperating with the investigation. The investigation comes at a time when the league is rushing to accept legal betting, including official partnerships with FOX Bet, BetMGM, PointsBet and WynnBET in recent years. BetMGM has become the official betting partner of the Lions in 2020, a relationship that includes in-stadium promotions and even a branded luxury club right outside the locker room at Ford Field. A glass wall allows clubgoers to watch the players pass from the locker room to the field.
Players are also allowed to bet online, but not on NFL games, and they cannot place bets of any kind on league and team facilities. That includes online casino games like blackjack.
Williams and Berryhill were both found guilty of betting on non-NFL games inside the team’s facility and were suspended six games as a result. Both players can participate in the offseason program, training camp and preseason, but must leave the team for the start of the regular season. They can return to practice in Week 4 and be eligible for reinstatement for the seventh game of the season. The schedule is expected to be released next month.
The punishment is another blow for Williams, the prized receiver who tore his ACL in the 2022 national championship game while at Alabama. But he remains No. 1 receiver on Detroit’s draft board that year, and when an injury led to a drop to No. 12, general manager Brad Holmes made an aggressive move up the board for the speedster.
Williams said he hoped to be back in time for training camp, but that never happened. He didn’t make his practice debut until November, didn’t make his game debut until December, and was so far from after he last hit the field that he struggled to fit into an offense that was ranked the most very much in the league without him. He caught one of his nine targets, a 41-yard touchdown in which he broke through Minnesota’s defense.
He caught another bomb for a touchdown in the finale against Green Bay, although one was called back due to a penalty, and also had a 40-yard pickup against Chicago on a reverse. Every time that guy gets his hands on a football, something crazy happens.
More craziness is always expected this year, now that Williams has had a full offseason to get healthy, integrate into the offense and develop chemistry with quarterback Jared Goff, even if the work is ahead of him. obvious and huge given how much he missed last year.
“We’re going to continue to do everything we need to do to make sure he’s set up to be successful,” general manager Brad Holmes said recently. “Jameson also needs to hold his own and make sure he does everything he needs to do. So it always causes liability on both sides. But we expect big things from him. He has extraordinary talent, extraordinary ability. He has a serious passion for the game. We expect great things from him. But obviously, we have to do our parts to make sure he’s successful. “
Weeks later, Williams was suspended for nearly a third of the season. He will now miss at least 17 of the first 23 games of his career, and will also be restricted from valuable practice time. He was also a no-show for the start of the offseason program this week, though Holmes said he was in the building Wednesday. It is unclear whether he participated in the exercises.
“It’s a cold world out here (really). Better at least make yo mama smile (before) this (expletive) end,” Williams said in an Instagram story on Friday morning. It’s unclear if the post is related to his suspension.
Williams is the second former Alabama receiver to be suspended for online gambling. In the most high-profile case to date, former Falcons wideout Calvin Ridley has been suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games in 2021. Ridley said he bet $1,500 over a five-day period, and sat on entire 2022 season before being reinstated last month.
“I know I was wrong,” Ridley tweeted after being suspended, “but it’s been 1 year lol.”
The players received education from the league about gambling rules after the Ridley incident, but Cephus and Moore still violated the same rule that prohibits betting on NFL games. Their careers in Detroit were over because of it.
Cephus is a fifth-round pick in 2020 who has shown flashes over the years, including being the No. 1 on the team wideout when injuries and attrition depleted the depth in 2021, although his own issues with injuries did not allow him to stay on the field. He finished with 37 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns in three seasons with the team.
Moore’s loss will be felt more. He was a key member of one of the best special teams units in the league, and the point man for three successful fake punts in the past two seasons, two of which occurred last year. one of which came on a critical fourth-and-8 from deep in Lions territory against the division-leading Vikings. The play went 42 yards, and led to another score that put Minnesota away for good.
Moore visited New England as a free agent this offseason, but was lured back to Detroit with a two-year, $4.5 million contract that included $3 million in guarantees.
“It means the world, man,” Moore said minutes after signing the biggest contract of his career. “Words can’t even explain it. I’m just saying thank you.”
Exactly one month later, he was suspended indefinitely.
At the end of the day, he will lose a job.