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Lions WR Williams Suspended Six Games For Gambling
The NFL announced today that Detroit receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill have been suspended six games for gambling policy violations, including betting from an NFL facility on non-NFL games.
The Lions also announced that they have released WR Quintez Cephus and S C.J. Moore. Both players were suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league's gambling policy, including betting on NFL games.
Both Berryhill and Williams can participate in off-season and pre-season activities leading up to their suspension, which will begin on the final roster cut down date.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, those suspended at least a year were found to have gambling on NFL games. Those suspended six games placed bets on college games but from their facility.
Unlike other NFL personnel, players are permitted to participate in sports betting -- just not on NFL games, and not on any sports while inside NFL venues/facilities.
"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," said Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes. "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."
Cephus was a 2020 fifth-round pick who has played in 22 games for the Lions. Moore appeared in 56 games over the last four seasons.
The hit on Williams has to be harder to swallow.
The Lions traded up to the 12th overall pick in last year’s NFL draft to select Williams, knowing he wouldn’t do much as a rookie. Williams tore his ACL playing for Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and as a rookie he needed time to recover and ended up catching just one pass.
But Williams is now at full speed, and Holmes told reporters at last month's NFL Owners Meeting that views the young wideout's presence on the 2023 roster as like the addition of a bonus first-round draft pick.
"It’s kind of like a brand new first-round pick,” Holmes said. “You know, the goal when we originally drafted him, we didn’t know really how much we were gonna get out of him, but it was good to have him get some kind of game experience to kind of feel the speed of the game. We’re just gonna continue to do everything that we need to do to make sure that he’s set up to succeed. He’s got rare talent, rare ability. He’s got a serious passion for the game. We expect big things from him, but obviously, we’ve got to do both our parts to make sure he’s successful.”
Williams has come up short on his part and will miss the first six games of the season as a result.
Williams recently attended throwing sessions in California with several Lions teammates and quarterback Jared Goff to develop chemistry. He was also on-site this week for the Lions' voluntary offseason workouts.
The Lions fell just short of the postseason last year and it’s no secret that their biggest goal for the coming season involves changing that ending to the season. Detroit wants to be back in the playoffs and their offense will have a big hand in making that happen.
The team took a leap forward on that side of the ball in Ben Johnson’s first season as coordinator and Amon-Ra St. Brown said that the goal is to keep the trajectory moving upward when they get back on the field.
“We had a pretty decent offense last year,” St. Brown said earlier this week, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Obviously, you want to be No. 1 in every category, so I think that’s what we’re striving for as an offense.
"Obviously, No. 1 in total yards per game, total scoring offense, we want to be No. 1 in all those categories. Not turning the ball over. I think we did a pretty good job of that last season, but you can always improve. So I think honestly, I think if you ask Ben, his goal would be to be No. 1 in all categories, and that’s my goal, too. I think that’s everyone’s goal on offense because we know we can do it. Whatever we got to do to be No. 1 in all those categories, that’s what we’re going to do."
They might still well do that. But Williams' six-game absence adds to the challenge.
The Lions also announced that they have released WR Quintez Cephus and S C.J. Moore. Both players were suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league's gambling policy, including betting on NFL games.
Both Berryhill and Williams can participate in off-season and pre-season activities leading up to their suspension, which will begin on the final roster cut down date.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, those suspended at least a year were found to have gambling on NFL games. Those suspended six games placed bets on college games but from their facility.
Unlike other NFL personnel, players are permitted to participate in sports betting -- just not on NFL games, and not on any sports while inside NFL venues/facilities.
"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," said Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes. "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."
Cephus was a 2020 fifth-round pick who has played in 22 games for the Lions. Moore appeared in 56 games over the last four seasons.
The hit on Williams has to be harder to swallow.
The Lions traded up to the 12th overall pick in last year’s NFL draft to select Williams, knowing he wouldn’t do much as a rookie. Williams tore his ACL playing for Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and as a rookie he needed time to recover and ended up catching just one pass.
But Williams is now at full speed, and Holmes told reporters at last month's NFL Owners Meeting that views the young wideout's presence on the 2023 roster as like the addition of a bonus first-round draft pick.
"It’s kind of like a brand new first-round pick,” Holmes said. “You know, the goal when we originally drafted him, we didn’t know really how much we were gonna get out of him, but it was good to have him get some kind of game experience to kind of feel the speed of the game. We’re just gonna continue to do everything that we need to do to make sure that he’s set up to succeed. He’s got rare talent, rare ability. He’s got a serious passion for the game. We expect big things from him, but obviously, we’ve got to do both our parts to make sure he’s successful.”
Williams has come up short on his part and will miss the first six games of the season as a result.
Williams recently attended throwing sessions in California with several Lions teammates and quarterback Jared Goff to develop chemistry. He was also on-site this week for the Lions' voluntary offseason workouts.
The Lions fell just short of the postseason last year and it’s no secret that their biggest goal for the coming season involves changing that ending to the season. Detroit wants to be back in the playoffs and their offense will have a big hand in making that happen.
The team took a leap forward on that side of the ball in Ben Johnson’s first season as coordinator and Amon-Ra St. Brown said that the goal is to keep the trajectory moving upward when they get back on the field.
“We had a pretty decent offense last year,” St. Brown said earlier this week, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Obviously, you want to be No. 1 in every category, so I think that’s what we’re striving for as an offense.
"Obviously, No. 1 in total yards per game, total scoring offense, we want to be No. 1 in all those categories. Not turning the ball over. I think we did a pretty good job of that last season, but you can always improve. So I think honestly, I think if you ask Ben, his goal would be to be No. 1 in all categories, and that’s my goal, too. I think that’s everyone’s goal on offense because we know we can do it. Whatever we got to do to be No. 1 in all those categories, that’s what we’re going to do."
They might still well do that. But Williams' six-game absence adds to the challenge.
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