Tag: suspended

Saints S Marcus Maye suspended 3 games for violating NFL policy on substance abuse

The NFL suspended Saints S Marcus Maye three games for violating the league’s policy on substance abuse.

The NFL announced a three-game suspension of New Orleans Saints safety Marcus Maye for violating the league’s policy on substance abuse on Wednesday.

Maye, who has played a team-high 123 defensive snaps for the Saints over the first two weeks, will miss games against the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New England Patriots. He is eligible to return on Monday, Oct. 9 and can play again in Week 6 against the Houston Texans.

Over two games, Maye produced 13 tackles, one interception and 1.0 sack for the Saints defense, which is fifth in the NFL in points allowed entering Week 3.

Signed by the Saints in 2022, Maye played in 10 games for New Orleans last season. He is a starter with Tyrann Mathieu at safety.

The Saints could use rookie Jordan Howden, who has played 26 snaps over the first two weeks, as a replacement for Maye at safety. The Saints took Howden (Minnesota) in the fifth round out of 2023 draft.

Maye will join running back Alvin Kamara and quarterback Jake Haener on the team’s suspended list. Suspended players do not count against the 53-man roster limit.

Orange County DA: Jimmy Graham will not be charged following Aug. arrest

The Orange County district attorney’s office says Jimmy Graham will not be charged following his Aug. arrest in Southern California:

This is good to see. Citing a statement from the Orange County district attorney’s office, ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reports that New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham will not be charged following his Aug. 18 arrest in Southern California due to a lack of sufficient evidence.

Graham was taken into custody on suspicion of being under the influence of narcotics and obstructing police, but he was later admitted to a local hospital and treated by Saints team doctors who believe he suffered a seizure. Graham was short on details when asked about the incident this week but says he wants to put it behind him and focus on football.

“Thanks for LAPD and just how quickly kind of everything went down and kind of how helpful they were through the process,” Graham said Thursday after practice. “Right now, we’re just dealing with that all personally.”

Hopefully Graham’s health is in a better place and he can go out and be a productive member of the team. Because the charges against him have been dropped it’s unlikely he’ll face any NFL discipline after the incident. That’s a relief for the Saints who are already down two players (Alvin Kamara, suspended three games; and Jake Haener, suspended six) with a third possibly joining them (Marcus Maye, who could receive a three-game suspension of his own). We’ll see if anything develops on this front.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Jake Haener suspension removes Saints’ advantage with QB3 loophole

Jake Haener suspension removes the Saints’ advantage with the QB3 loophole. Now they’re stuck working with it like every other team:

One ripple effect of the New Orleans Saints losing Jake Haener for the first six games: they’re stuck working with the NFL’s new QB3 rule like every other team rather than taking advantage of a loophole with Taysom Hill’s positional versatility.

The Saints recently changed Hill’s official listing from tight end to quarterback so they could exploit the rule change and have all four quarterback-eligible players dress out on game days.

Had Haener remained available, the Saints could have activated two quarterbacks (Carr and Winston) while keeping a third (Haener) in reserve as the third passer, with Hill also in the game, essentially saving a roster spot to get another backup quarterback. They can still do that without Haener but they’ll be formally activating Carr and Hill with Winston as the third passer. Which is what every other team is doing.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Jake Haener says he did not knowingly take a banned substance

Jake Haener says he did not knowingly take a banned substance, but he’s prepared to take responsibility and serve his 6-week suspension:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw3c7jSL9RV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener said he did not knowingly consume a banned substance after testing positive for it, a violation of the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, though he’s owning up to the mess and preparing to serve the league-mandated six-week suspension to start his rookie season.

“I would never knowingly cheat the game that I love, however I must take full responsibility for the failed test,” Haener shared in a statement from his official Instagram account, apologizing to the Saints as an organization as well as his friends and family for creating a distraction at such an important part of the NFL’s calendar. Hopefully he learns from the experience and is more careful in the future.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Jake Haener is paying a hefty price with his 6-week NFL suspension

Jake Haener is paying a hefty price with his 6-week NFL suspension. The Saints QB will forfeit a third of his rookie salary:

Jake Haener is learning an awfully expensive lesson about the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy. The New Orleans Saints backup quarterback was set to make $750,000 in base salary this season on his rookie contract — and he’ll forfeit a third of that while serving his six-week suspension to start the season for violating that PED policy.

That comes up to a bill of $250,000, so Haener is paying a hefty price. The young pro is going to have to learn to be more responsible moving forwards. The good news is that he won’t exactly go hungry; Haener received a $700,000 signing bonus earlier this year that won’t be subject to deductions. Still, he’s got to be more careful in the future.

He’ll be eligible to return to the team on Monday, Oct. 16 after their Week 6 road game with the Houston Texans. Haener wasn’t expected to play much this season (if at all) with Jameis Winston ahead of him on the depth chart behind Derek Carr, though Taysom Hill is also listed at quarterback.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Saints quarterback Jake Haener suspended first 6 games of 2023

Rookie Saints quarterback Jake Haener has been suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season after violating the league PED policy, per NFL Network:

This is disappointing. New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Jake Haener has been suspended for the first six weeks of the 2023 season due to a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Haener will not count against the 53-man roster limit while serving his suspension.

That would explain why the Saints changed Taysom Hill’s official position listing from tight end to quarterback earlier this week. Haener was in line for a reserve role behind Derek Carr and Jameis Winston in his first year in the NFL, and that’s what will be expected of him when he returns after their Week 6 road game with the Houston Texans.

So Alvin Kamara will be eligible to return on Sept. 25 (after the Saints play the Green Bay Packers in Week 3) with Haener returning as soon as Oct. 16. We’re still waiting to see whether NFL discipline will be issued to starting safety Marcus Maye after his Florida DUI case concluded late this summer. Hopefully the Saints can get all hands on deck sooner rather than later.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Alvin Kamara’s NFL-mandated suspension starts now. Here’s when he’ll return

Alvin Kamara’s NFL-mandated suspension starts now. Here’s when he’ll return to join his New Orleans Saints teammates:

Tuesday’s NFL deadline didn’t just trigger a massive wave of roster cuts around the league — it also signaled the start of suspensions for many players, including New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara. Kamara has been suspended for the first three games of the 2023 regular season due to his involvement in a Las Vegas beating last February that left a man severely injured.

Kamara has since settled the criminal and civil court cases that were brought against him, and with the legal process concluded the NFL head office in New York was free to issue its own discipline. He is no longer allowed at the facility or in communication with the team until his three-game suspension has concluded.

So when will he return? Kamara will miss the Saints’ season opener with the Tennessee Titans as well as their Week 2 prime-time game with the Carolina Panthers, and a Week 3 road game at historic Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. However, he’ll be free to rejoin the team as soon as that third and final game is in the books: as soon as Monday, Sept. 25.

Maybe Kamara will be waiting for the team at the airport just like his close friend and former teammate Mark Ingram II was when he returned from his own suspension back in 2018. Either way, he’ll be available to suit up in a game as soon as Week 4’s home game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so mark your calendars accordingly.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Marcus Maye sentenced to probation in Florida DUI case

Starting Saints safety Marcus Maye has been sentenced to probation in his Florida DUI case. With the legal process over, the NFL can now issue its own disicpline:

There’s another domino falling on the New Orleans Saints offseason: ESPN’s Katherine Terrell first reported that starting free safety Marcus Maye has been sentenced to six months of probation after being charged with driving under the influence in Florida back in 2021. Terrell adds that he’ll also have his driver’s license suspended during that six-month span, on top of 50 hours’ worth of community service.

With the legal proceedings behind Maye, the NFL can now issue its own discipline — likely a three-week suspension at some point during the 2023 regular season. Maye was limited to just 10 games last season, his first in New Orleans, due to various injuries. It’s all but certain he’ll miss more time in Year 2 with the ramifications from this off-field incident.

But that might take some time for the league office to work out. Alvin Kamara’s three-game suspension was handed down nearly a month after he closed both court cases stemming from last year’s brawl in Las Vegas.

With the start of the regular season just three weeks away, the Saints may not learn when Maye will be unavailable until after they’ve played a game or two. The good news is New Orleans runs deeper in the secondary than anywhere else; if Maye is out of the picture for multiple games, they have other veterans to lean on at safety like Tyrann Mathieu, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Johnathan Abram, Ugo Amadi, and J.T. Gray as well as youngers Jordan Howden and Smoke Monday.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Bucs select Baker Mayfield as their next starting QB to lose to the Saints

The Buccaneers formally named Baker Mayfield their new starting quarterback, picking him as their next QB to lose a game to the Saints:

There’s one more quarterback situation settled. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers named Baker Mayfield their starting quarterback on Tuesday following a surprisingly competitive training camp battle with Kyle Trask — meaning they’re picking Mayfield as the next Buccaneers quarterback to lose a game to the New Orleans Saints.

New Orleans will first host the Bucs in Week 4 this season, with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m. CT on Sunday, Oct. 1. That’s the same game which star running back Alvin Kamara will return from suspension, which isn’t a great sign for Tampa Bay’s chances of winning.

Mayfield has only played the Saints once before, with his Carolina Panthers frustrating the Jameis Winston-led New Orleans offense in a game where Mayfield went 12-of-25 for just 170 passing yards, losing 22 yards on 3 sacks. He was benched a few weeks later and ended the season on the Los Angeles Rams, who chose to not re-sign him in the spring.

He might be a good pick to help the Buccaneers capsize their pirate ship and make a run at the top overall pick in the 2024 draft, eyeing a young quarterback prospect like Caleb Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (North Carolina). It’s a bold approach, but it’s worth remembering how it didn’t work out for the Bucs when they went all-in on tanking to get Winston. It’s also the same slot Mayfield was drafted himself not too long ago.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Marcus Maye practicing with Saints while Florida court case continues

Marcus Maye was spotted practicing with the Saints in California while his Florida court case continues | @DillySanders

New Orleans Saints starting safety Marcus Maye was still at practice Thursday while his Florida court case continued, stemming from a DUI charge from Feb. 2021. His latest court date was scheduled for Thursday morning but he was with the team at their joint practice session in Los Angeles against the Chargers.

Maye is an important piece to the secondary in New Orleans; having him available for this season will be crucial. He had a pass breakup against the Kansas City Chiefs in his limited preseason playing time. Maye also had 60 tackles in just 10 games played last season, so being able to extrapolate that out to a full season would make a huge impact. Injuries slowed Maye down last year, and he’s likely to serve a three-game suspension whenever the legal process closes out in Florida.

He and Tyrann Mathieu remain the only proven safeties on the roster ahead of a few young guys with potential (sixth-round rookie draft pick Jordan Howden, second-year pro Smoke Monday) and some veterans who have bounced around the league like Ugo Amadi, Johnathan Abram, and Lonnie Johnson Jr.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]