The NFL cut the Detroit Lions some major slack before their Week 5 game on Friday afternoon. The Lions just scored a win Thursday night over the Green Bay Packers and took a one-game lead in the NFC North. Their path to the playoffs just became easier.
The Detroit Lions caught a break on their gambling scandal
In April, the NFL suspended Jameson Williams and a few Lions players for gambling. Williamson made bets, not on the NFL, at the Lions facility. The NFL initially gave Williamson a six-game suspension, per WSH Media files:
According to multiple reports, four players with the Detroit Lions and one with the Washington Commanders were suspended by the NFL in connection to betting. Lions 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams was suspended along with teammate Stanley Berryhill for six games for bets made at a Lions facility. Lions safety C.J. Moore and wide receiver Quintez Cephus were suspended indefinitely for placing bets on NFL games.
The NFL changed the suspension on Friday.
According to Adam Schefter with ESPN, the league altered its policy on gambling from the workplace. A first violation will be a two-game suspension without pay. A second violation will be six games without pay. The third violation will be a minimum suspension of one year without pay.
Betting on non-NFL sports from the workplace now will lead to this discipline:
🏈First violation – two game suspension without pay
🏈Second violation – six game suspension without pay
🏈Third violation – suspension without pay for at least one year https://t.co/g6fnyFl8Lv— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 29, 2023
Per Schefter, the league reinstated Williams and Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nick Petie-Frere due to the policy change.
As a result of gambling policy changes, Titans’ OT Nick Petit-Frere and Lions’ WR Jameson Williams will be reinstated effective on Monday. They each had served four game suspensions for violations of the league’s gambling policy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 29, 2023
The Lions have another step on the Green Bay Packers
The Lions will now have Williamson back two games earlier than he was expected to be. The second-year wide receiver and former first-round pick will make a dangerous Lions offense even more lethal.
The NFL decision could alter the course of the NFC North. The Packers are only one game down to the Lions after Week 4. But the more loaded the Lions are, the harder it will be for the youthful Packers to keep up this season.
For More Wisconsin Sports:
Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @WiSportsHeroics. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Wisconsin sports, click here! Packers, Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee Bucks.
