Colts waive Isaiah Rodgers, Rashod Berry after NFL suspends 3 players for gambling

The NFL indefinitely suspended three players for gambling violations Thursday, including Indianapolis Colts defensive back Isaiah Rodgers Sr. and defensive end Rashod Berry, as well as former Detroit Lions defensive tackle and current free agent Demetrius Taylor.

Shortly thereafter, the Colts waived Rodgers and Berry.

Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere was also suspended for the first six games of the 2023 regular season for betting on non-NFL sports at the team’s facility. He’s still eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games.

“The NFL confirmed today that three players have been indefinitely suspended for violating the league’s gambling policy. One other player was suspended six games,” the NFL’s official statement read. “These players (Rodgers, Berry and Taylor) may petition for reinstatement at the conclusion of the 2023 season.”

The first indication Rodgers was involved came when a website that covers sports wagering, sportshandle.com, reported in early June that an unidentified Colts player had been involved with “pervasive” betting. The report said the player placed “hundreds” of bets, some on the Colts.

Rodgers later responded to the report on Twitter:

The league’s gambling policy, which bars players, coaches, league and team officials from betting on NFL games, placing bets at team facilities or team hotels or having someone else place a bet for them, among other restrictions.

With many states legalizing sports books specifically and gambling in general, leagues such as the NFL must increasingly contend with gambling infractions.

In April, the NFL suspended five players, four of them with the Lions, for gambling infractions. The Lions released three players — receivers Quintez Cephus and Stanley Berryhill and safety C.J. Moore. Cephus and Moore were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games while Berryhill and receiver Jameson Williams each drew six-game suspensions for betting on non-NFL games.

Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in the 2022 draft, remains on Detroit’s roster.

Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney also received an indefinite suspension in April for betting on NFL games, and in 2022 the NFL gave then-Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley a season-long suspension for betting. He was reinstated in March and now plays for Jacksonville.

Rodgers was projected to be a starter this season, his fourth in the NFL, and the former UMass star was expected to add a veteran voice in a young position room.

Indy lost veteran safety Rodney McLeod in free agency, traded cornerback Stephon Gilmore to Dallas and moved Julian Blackmon from free safety to strong safety this offseason. The Colts also took four defensive backs in the draft. Fifth-round pick Daniel Scott, a safety, will miss the entire season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament this month in practice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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