The NFL is changing its policies surrounding sports betting, which will more harshly punish players who bet on their own teams.
The circuit also changed some rules that will allow some players, like Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams, to return to the field more quickly.
Under the league’s new policy, a player who places a bet involving his own team will be suspended at least two years. Bets placed by players on any NFL game will result in a suspension of at least one year.
Betting on non-NFL sporting events at team facilities or during team-related travel will now result in a two-game suspension for a first offense, six games for a second offense and at least one year for a third offense.
This will allow Williams and Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Nick Petit-Frere to be reinstated effective Monday. Both players were initially suspended six games and will ultimately serve four.
Several players – including Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus, Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney and three members of the Indianapolis Colts – were suspended indefinitely under the NFL’s previous betting policy. They will be able to apply to rejoin the NFL at the end of the 2023 season.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin could play his first game this season against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott said Jordan Poyer, one of the team’s starting safety, would not be able to play due to a knee injury.
Hamlin, 25, was left out of the first three games of the season, but is expected to be an active player for Sunday’s game.
Hamlin has come a long way. He suffered a cardiac arrest last January in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was revived on the field by team doctors and was placed in an induced coma for two days after the incident.
The former University of Pittsburgh player had received the green light from doctors to return to play this season. He earned a spot on the Bills’ 53-man roster following the team’s training camp.
2023-09-29 20:31:00
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