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The NFL has suspended four more players for violating its league gambling policy, as nine total players have now been suspended this offseason for gambling.
On Thursday, the league announced Indianapolis Colts cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, linebacker Rashod Berry, and former Detroit Lions linebacker Demetrius Taylor were all suspended indefinitely for at least the entire 2023 season because they bet on NFL games last season. Rodgers and Berry were released Thursday by the Colts, while the Lions cut Taylor in May after four other Lions players were suspended in April for gambling.
Berry, a 2020 undrafted free agent from the Patriots, was entering his second season with the Colts and scheduled to make $940,000.
Wagers placed by Rodgers included a $1,000 prop bet on the over/under of rushing yards for a Colts running back, according to ESPN. Rodgers was in the final year of his four-year rookie deal. The sixth-round pick out of UMass was scheduled to make $2.7 million in 2023, according to Spotrac.
The other NFL player suspended Thursday was Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, who got a six-game ban for betting on other sports (not the NFL) while he was at the Titans’ facility, which is against league policy. The second-year player out of Ohio State has a base salary of nearly $953,000 for the upcoming season.
Following five player gambling suspensions in April, the NFL made a point to visit league facilities this offseason to educate players on its gambling restrictions. Tom Brady appeared in a video taped by the NFL that was shown to players to warn of the dangers of gambling.
Petit-Frere said in a statement to ESPN that “even after attending a league presentation, I was unaware about the specifics around placing bets from a team facility.”
Washington Commanders DT Jonathan Allen, who had teammate Shaka Toney suspended indefinitely for betting in April, also told FOS that he was unaware of the league’s policy against betting on non-football sports from team facilities.
The three players indefinitely suspended by the NFL on Thursday can apply for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season. Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Calvin Ridley missed the entire 2022 season after being suspended indefinitely and was reinstated in March.
