The NFL is reinstating Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers after he was suspended for the 2023 season when it was revealed he gambled on league games in 2022.
The league said Rodgers, 26, is cleared to participate in team activities, effective immediately. In response to the news, Rodgers posted footage of himself from a doorbell camera wearing an Eagles jacket and whispering: ‘I’m back.’
The Eagles signed Rodgers in August 2023, two months after the Indianapolis Colts waived him. The Colts let him go shortly after the NFL suspended Rodgers and two other Colts players indefinitely for gambling on NFL games during the previous season.
At least 12 players have been suspended for gambling, beginning with the 2022 season-long suspension of receiver Calvin Ridley. He was reinstated in March and now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Five players were suspended for gambling infractions last April, four from the Detroit Lions.
Rodgers’ reinstatement comes after the NBA banned Toronto forward Jontay Porter for life after a league probe found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games, even betting on the Raptors to lose.
Isaiah Rodgers (pictured) served a year-long ban after being caught gambling on NFL games
Porter is the second person to be banned by Commissioner Adam Silver for violating league rules. The other was now-former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling in 2014, shortly after Silver took office.
In making the announcement, Silver called Porter’s actions ‘blatant.’
As for Rodgers, a fourth-year player drafted in the sixth round from UMass, has played in 45 career games with 10 starts. He has three interceptions, all in 2021.
League rules bar players, coaches, team officials and all league personnel from betting on NFL games, placing bets at team facilities or team hotels or having someone else place a bet for them.
NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs and policy Jeff Miller said in 2023 that only players are permitted to bet on non-NFL games following consultation with the NFL Players Association.
Still gambling policy violations are becoming increasingly common with the expansion of states legalizing sports wagering and other forms of betting and the ease with which bets can be placed on mobile devices.
And it seems remarkably prevalent in a league that imposed no gambling suspensions between those involving Paul Hornung and Alex Karras in 1963 until Art Schlichter in 1983.
In addition to being a cornerback, Rodgers can also handle punt-return duties for the Eagles
At least 10 players have been suspended in the past year, beginning with the 2022 season-long suspension of former Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley. He was reinstated in March and now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Five players were suspended for gambling infractions in April, four from Detroit.
The Lions have since released receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill and safety C.J. Moore after Cephus and Moore received indefinite suspensions. Lions general manager Brad Holmes said at the time Cephus and Moore ‘exhibited decision-making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules.’
Berryhill and receiver Jameson Williams were given six-game suspensions. Taylor also played for the Lions last season and was released in May.
The other player, Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney, also received an indefinite suspension. Toney, a seventh-round pick in 2021; Williams, the No. 12 overall draft pick in 2022; and Petit-Frere still have jobs.
While the league already has reinforced its gambling policy to the more than 17,000 NFL employees, it’s also making the rounds for annual presentations at team facilities.
‘The league just comes in, they give their piece on it with what they talk about and how they handle it and what the players need to know and going forward in that matter,’ new Colts coach Shane Steichen said after the investigation into Rodgers’ actions went public in 2023.
Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams were given six-game suspension from the NFL
It’s not just that there’s more gambling.
A website that covers sports wagering, sportshandle.com, reported an unidentified Colts player placed ‘hundreds’ of bets, some on Colts games. Rodgers later responded to the report with a Twitter post in which he acknowledged making ‘mistakes’ while hoping to ‘repair’ the damage.
Rodgers, a fourth-year player from UMass, won’t get that chance in Indy. But Tennessee is taking a different approach with its starting right tackle.
‘We believe in Nick and know that he has deep respect for the integrity of the game and our organization,’ the Titans said in a statement. ‘We will continue to emphasize to our players the importance of understanding and adhering to league rules and policies.’
Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and current broadcaster believes not knowing the rules is simply an excuse
Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason and current broadcaster believes not knowing the rules is simply an excuse. He also called on the NFL to provide support for those in the league who have gambling addictions.
‘I know for a fact that the Jets and Giants, in OTAs and minicamps, went over these policies with their teams incessantly so they know what they can and cannot do,’ Esiason, the NFL’s 1988 MVP, told The Associated Press in 2023.
‘So, any player that comes out and says, ”Well, they didn’t tell me,” that’s a pile of crap. It’s on the player to be the professional that you’re supposed to be and earn the money that you’re earning and play in a league that you’re privileged to play in and protect that league’s integrity by not betting on the league.’
Berry and Petit-Frere were teammates at Ohio State before Berry was signed by New England as an undrafted rookie in 2020. Berry spent most of last season on the Jags practice squad before joining Indy’s active roster Jan. 4.
The bigger blow in Indy is losing Rodgers in a secondary already under reconstruction. He was expected to provide a veteran’s voice in a young position room that includes four draft picks. Now, he’s out of a job as the Colts move forward.
‘I think any time something like this comes up, you’ve got to push it aside and move on,’ Steichen said. ‘But the players have been good so far in the building.’
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