NFL Reinstates 6 Players From Gambling Suspensions

The NFL has reinstated six players who were suspended for the 2023 season for violating the league’s gambling policy. Sports betting was first legalized by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018. 

NFL reinstates Shaka Toney, Quintez Cephus, Rashod Berry, Demetrius Taylor, C.J. Moore, and Isaiah Rodgers from gambling suspensions 

In April, the NFL reinstated then-Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney, wide receiver Quintez Cephus, defensive end Rashod Berry, defensive end Demetrius Taylor, and safety C.J. Moore.

Toney was released by the Commanders after he was reinstated. He’s currently a free agent. Taylor, Berry, and Moore are also now free agents. Cephus signed with the Buffalo Bills last week.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Isaiah Rodgers, who also was suspended last year for at least the 2023 season, was reinstated five days later. 

Rodgers’ situation was under a more extensive review period, according to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. 

The NFL suspended Rodgers in June 2023 for betting on his own team. The UMass product said the wagers and a $1,000 prop bet were placed from his online sports gambling account. 

Moreover, Rodgers said the bets were made for people who lived in Florida, where online sports betting at that time remained illegal.

“Just trying to help friends and family out, just knowing that it wasn’t legal at the time in Florida, and it was in Indiana,” Rodgers told ESPN.

“At the end of the day, I knew the rules. I wasn’t supposed to do it, and I got to take what comes with it,” Rodgers said.

Philadelphia Eagles hold Isaiah Rodgers’ rights if the league reinstates him from betting-related suspension

Furthermore, both Rodgers and Berry were with the Indianapolis Colts at the time of their suspensions, and both were released by the team last year.

Berry made three combined tackles and two solo tackles in five games played with the Detroit Lions during the 2021 season.  

In August 2023, Rodgers signed with the Eagles. Of course, he was eligible to petition for reinstatement after Super Bowl LVIII. 

The 5-foot-10, 170-pound defensive back made 34 combined tackles in 15 games played with Indianapolis in the 2022 season. 

Additionally, Cephus and Moore were with Detroit at the time of their suspensions. Both were released by the team. 

Cephus had 60 catches for 568 yards and four touchdowns with the Lions in three seasons. Moore appeared in 56 games for Detroit from 2019-22.

In 11 games played with the Lions of the 2022 season, Moore recorded seven solo tackles, 12 combined tackles, five assists on tackles, and one pass defended. 

Toney, a 2021 seventh-round pick, had 1.5 sacks and 16 combined tackles with Washington across 26 games in two seasons.

As for Taylor, a 6-foot-1, 295-pound defensive tackle, he was still a free agent at the time of his suspension. In fact, he appeared in just one game with Detroit after going undrafted out of Appalachian State in 2022.