Friday the NFL announced the suspension of Arizona Cardinals inside linebacker Daryl Washington for the entire 2014 season for once again violating the league's substance abuse policy.
Washington was suspended four games last season for a previous violation of the policy. He also faced an additional suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy after being charged with two counts of aggravated assault on his ex-girlfriend. Washington pleaded guilty to the charges in March and was sentenced in April to one year of supervised probation.
Washington made a statement through his agent admitting to using marijuana and apologizing to his team and fans. He will lose $2.9 million in salary due to the suspension. The Cards are also trying to not pay his bonus.
The loss of Washington on the interior of the Cardinals defensive line is significant. Washington was the team leader in tackles in 2011 and 2012. With Karlos Dansby already lost to free agency, it is unclear what the Cards will do without their presence on the defense. Second year player Kevin Minter is slated to take over the spot left by Dansby but there is no clear standout player to take over Washington's spot.
The team has already responded to the suspension with Cardinals GM Steve Keim stating it was "completely unacceptable for Daryl to put us in this position" and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett tweeting that the information was "old news" for the team.
Washington's future with the Cards and in the league are uncertain at best. With continued off field issues, he is a liability to any team. Unless he makes significant changes to his life, he may be facing the end of his NFL career.
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