The NFL has started an investigation on a fifth Lions player for a possible violation of the league’s gambling policy, according to The Athletic.
The unamed player — who has not yet been interviewed by the league’s investigator — was not a “prominent member of the 2022 team,” per the outlet.
In April, the NFL suspended four Detroit players for betting on games last season.
Receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill received six-game suspensions for placing bets on non-NFL games while at the team facility.
Berryhill was released on May 9.
Safety C.J. Moore and wide receiver Quintez Cephus were given indefinite suspensions for betting on NFL games, which means they will miss at least the 2023 season.
Commanders defensive lineman Shaka Toney was also among those suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games.
On Thursday, Williams addressed the suspension and admitted he didn’t realize he violated an NFL policy, saying “it caught me.”
“It hit me out of the blue and it hit a couple other players around the league and on my team out of the blue,” Williams told reporters. “I wasn’t aware of this situation, but as it happened, like I said, I took it on the chin. I was ready to move forward as things moved on. I got the consequences. That’s been my whole plan moving forward from things, and just looking at the better days.”
Detroit’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft didn’t give any specifics about his betting habits, but insisted there wasn’t “frequent gambling.”
That another player is being investigated should come as no surprise, as the league is reportedly investigating a “second wave of potential violations of its gambling policy,” per ESPN.
Williams is among the most notable players to have received a ban for betting, following then-Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley’s one-year suspension.
Ridley was traded to the Jaguars as he sat out the 2022 season betting $1,500 in 2021 on a series of parlays on that included the Falcons and was reinstated to play in 2023.
