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The NFL suspended four more players for violating the league’s policy on gambling, including former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor. It’s a suspension that should end the Lions’ ongoing gambling saga.
Should.
Taylor becomes the fifth player who was suspended for violating the rules while a member of the Lions in 2022. All but one, wideout Jameson Williams, are now ex-Lions; Detroit released Taylor in May shortly after the 2023 NFL draft.
When Taylor was initially released, it raised some eyebrows. While he spent most of the season on either the practice squad or the weekly inactives list, Taylor did show some ability in the preseason. He made the roster as an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State and flashed anchoring ability and some pass rush potential.
It’s not yet known if the Lions knew that Taylor was in peril of suspension, but it certainly makes the move to release him less controversial. And while we don’t know for sure that all the scandalous suspensions are done for the Lions, this should represent the end of the gambling tentacles involving the franchise that date back to last season.
Jameson Williams is the only residual sign of all the suspensions and terminations from both the playing roster and the team’s staff. C.J. Moore, Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill are all long gone and won’t be back. Taylor won’t either. Williams’ talent and lesser suspension afford him a shot at redemption.
The NFL’s uneasily necessary relationship with online betting partners isn’t going away. The Lions are the unfortunate example of what happens when the players do precisely what so many corporate sponsors beg fans to do — bet on sports.
This wave of punishment for violations last season appears to have finally capped out, at least for Detroit. Here’s hoping it’s the last gambling-related wave to ever lap at the Lions’ shores again.