Detroit Lions safety Jayron Kearse has been suspended for three games by the NFL for violating its drug addiction policy.
Kearse, 26, signed with the Lions in March after four seasons at Minnesota, where he played 62 games with five starts, making 79 tackles and defending eight assists.
Kearse was charged with DWI and carrying an unlicensed firearm last October while he was with the Vikings. Kearse apologized for his actions in October, saying the arrest “did not reflect who I am as a person”.
The NFL did not say if the suspension was related to that October arrest.
“We were aware of the situation in free will, we obviously looked at the situation. We spoke with Jayron and we felt comfortable with him and the situation,” Lions coach Matt Patricia said. . “Obviously, [we] I got to know him a lot more from free will and I felt comfortable with it all. We knew it was something that was going to happen. … It’s a league issue, and I’ll leave it at that.
“But this is something we were aware of during free will.”
Kearse is eligible to return on September 28 following the team’s game in Arizona.
Detroit is crowded safe behind incumbents Tracy Walker and Will Harris after a series of off-season moves including re-signing Miles Killebrew, signing Kearse and trading for Duron Harmon.
Courtney Cronin of ESPN contributed to this report.
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