It may be of small comfort, but it could have been worse for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd. Floyd and the team got the news Friday that he would be suspended for the first four games of the 2017 NFL season for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances Abuse.
The suspension comes from a positive alcohol test while Floyd was on house arrest stemming from the DUI arrest last season that ended his Arizona Cardinals’ tenure. Floyd claimed the positive test came from accidentally drinking a Kombucha tea he didn’t realize contained alcohol. If true, Floyd isn’t the first person to be confused by the alcohol content of a Kombucha tea. The tea isn’t sold as an alcoholic beverage nor does it require an I.D. to buy. There’s actually a lot of controversy over that and the alcohol content of the tea.
Michael Floyd suspended the first 4 games for violating substance abuse policy. Brought to you by Bud Lite the official sponsor of the NFL.
— Fake SportsCenter (@FakeSportsCentr) July 14, 2017
If anything, for Floyd it’s a solid excuse. Still, the NFL can be assholes and Floyd will have to sit until the Vikings October 2 game against the Detroit Lions.
“Do I believe it? I don’t know how much tea he (Floyd) drank. I have no clue,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said about a possible suspension earlier this week. “I don’t have any doubt why there’d be skepticism, but he told me that he wasn’t (drinking). That it was legit. …( I told him) If I find out you’re lying to me, I’m going to cut you.”
Floyd had a solid career in the NFL before problems with alcohol derailed it in Arizona. In his last full season with the Cardinals, Floyd caught 52 passes for 849 yards and six touchdowns. Last season, after Arizona cut him, he landed with the New England Patriots and picked up a Super Bowl ring with just two regular season games’ work. He was inactive through the postseason.
Rams wideout Mike Thomas suspended for four games, Higbee gets plea deal
For a guy likely on the roster bubble, Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Mike Thomas couldn’t afford a four game suspension. Regardless, he’s getting one for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances.
Rams WR Mike Thomas suspended first four games of 2017 regular season for violating NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 14, 2017
Thomas will be able to play all through the preseason and practice with the team, he won’t make a regular season appearance until Los Angeles’ Oct. 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s a shame for Thomas, who reportedly was showing flashes during Rams OTAs. Last season Thomas caught three passes for 37 yards last season, but returned nine kicks for 180 yards. Thomas was a sixth-round pick out Southern Miss in 2016.
Rams tight end Tyler Higbee likely won’t (or at least shouldn’t) face any discipline from the league after accepting a plea deal for a 2016 altercation while he was a player at Western Kentucky.
Higbee plead guilty to second-degree assault under extreme emotional disturbance and will have to perform 250 hours of community service and be on a diversion program for the next five years.
Rams TE Tyler Higbee pleads gulity, granted diversion and pays restitution for 2016 Kentucky incident. https://t.co/XDrmeZM2er
— Gary Klein (@LATimesklein) July 14, 2017
While Higbee will probably be jumped by second round pick Gerald Everett on the depth chart, he still should see plenty of snaps in new head coach Sean McVay’s offense so the fact that this fight, which Higbee apparently won, is in his rearview mirror. Last season Higbee started six games and played in all 16, catching 11 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown.
Is Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott looking at a suspension too?
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, he just might. Elliott was accused, but did not face any chargers over domestic violence allegations from last summer. The accusation came from a woman, reportedly Elliott’s ex girlfriend, who posted pictures of bruises on her knee, arms and neck.
Elliott denied assaulting her and had a witness that was in the car at the alleged time back up his side of the story. The conflicting accounts, among other factors, kept the Columbus, Ohio city attorney from pressing chargers.
https://twitter.com/DylansFreshTake/status/885907570808029184
That, of course, won’t stop the NFL from doing something for show. According to Schefter, the league could hand Elliott a one or two game suspension for something he didn’t actually do. Sounds about right.
Earlier this off-season, Elliott voiced his frustration at how long the NFL dragged out the investigation.
“I do want closure,” Elliott told Yahoo Sports. “I do. I would rather them not drag it on as long. I think if there was something to find, which there’s not, they would’ve found it by now. The police did a very thorough investigation. I will tell you this, it just seems like they’re dragging their feet right now. Who knows, man? I just want it to end.”
That end could be coming soon, but not in any satisfactory way for anybody.
Martavis Bryant wants to show Ben Roethlisberger his fractured feelings journal
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant is returning this season after a year-long suspension for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. It’s a time to be humble and know that, he, as a person, has only himself to blame.
Which is obviously why he has issues with his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
On this football-less Sunday, let's all take a moment & remember how lethal Martavis Bryant can be on an end around. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Tuq1ASuzX5
— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) July 9, 2017
You see, last season when Bryant, who was set to be the Steelers’ No. 2 wideout opposite Antonio Brown, was suspended Roethlisberger said such horrible things like Bryant needed to grow up. And that he’d let down the team. He needed to win back the Steelers’ trust. You know, scandalous shit.
Bryant took issue with that for some reason.
“I feel like we need to (talk),” Bryant told ESPN. “We should have a man-to-man. Because some of the things he put out there about me, I kind of didn’t agree with how he (Roethlisberger) did it. So I want to sit down and hear his own opinion, man-to-man, about why he did that. …”I mean, at that time, I was going through a lot of stuff. I wasn’t really even worried about his opinion at that time, because there was just a lot that was going on. He’s my brother. I love him. But at the same time, I have my own family outside of football. I have my own problems. I’m not just going to come up to you and open up to you about what’s going on with my personal life. That’s not how I am. We just didn’t see eye-to-eye on that, but as far as right now, everything’s great.”
Yeah. Sounds like it.
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