Former Penn State defensive end Shaka Toney is among three players suspended for the 2023 season and possibly beyond due to betting on NFL games during the 2022 campaign, the league announced Friday.
Sources: NFL suspended 5 players, including #Lions WR Jameson Williams, for violations of NFL gambling policy. #Lions’ CJ Moore & Quintez Cephus, plus #Commanders' Shaka Toney, are suspended indefinitely (at least 1 year). Williams & DET’s Stanley Berryhill are suspended 6 games. pic.twitter.com/Jnmzn8iKzj
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 21, 2023
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport was the first to report the story.
Toney, now with the Washington Commanders, is among five players suspended and the only one not on the Detroit Lions.
The most prominent name is Jameson Williams, a receiver who was Detroit’s first-round pick out of Alabama in 2022. Williams and teammate Stanley Berryhill are only suspended for six games, which will still cost them more than a third of the 2023 season.
Williams and Berryhill received lighter suspensions because, according to the Lions, they didn’t bet on NFL games. The league also said that it didn’t find any evidence of the game being compromised by the bets.
The NFL’s policy states that NFL players and personnel cannot bet on league games or any other NFL-related activities, and can’t place bets in general when they’re at a team facility or traveling with the team.
Although Williams and Berryhill apparently didn’t bet on league games, they are suspended for betting at the Lions’ Allen Park facility.
Detroit’s CJ Moore and Quintz Cephus are suspended at least a year, along with Toney.
Detroit has already released Moore and Cephus.
Washington has not yet released Toney, but it seems to be a decent possibility. All three players will have to apply for reinstatement a year from now.
In a statement, the Commanders wrote that they have “cooperated fully with the NFL’s investigation since receiving notice and support the league’s findings and actions.”
“All further questions on the topic should be directed to the NFL League Office,” the statement read.
Toney has been with Washington since 2021, when the team took him in the seventh round. He appeared in 16 games for the Commanders last season in a reserve role.
