Indianapolis Colts veteran cornerback Isaiah Rodgers, Colts defensive end Rashod Berry, and free agent defensive lineman Demetrius Taylor have all been given indefinite suspensions as part of the NFL's latest investigation into gambling allegations a league press release announced Thursday. The league found Rodgers, Berry, and Taylor were all found to have bet on NFL games during the 2022 season. They are all eligible to petition the league to be reinstated once the 2023 season ends. As a result, the Colts waived both Rodgers and Berry shortly after the news broke.
Rodgers' wagers included a $1,000 prop bet on the Over/Under of rushing yards of a Colts running back, per ESPN.
Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Nicholas Petit-Frere was also suspended Thursday for six games instead of indefinitely because he bet on non-NFL sports while at the Titans facility. Part of the league's gambling rules state that no NFL employee can gamble in any club or league facility/venue including a team's practice facility.
A year after former Falcons and current Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for all of 2022 due to bets placed on NFL games, the NFL has now suspended nine additional players this offseason, including Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams. Earlier this month, reports indicated the NFL was preparing for a second wave of suspensions, with Rodgers among players implicated.
A fourth-year cornerback and kick returner for the Colts, Rodgers took "full responsibility" for his alleged gambling shortly afterward, apologizing via social media. Now he's set to miss all of 2023 for what Sports Handle reported as "pervasive wagering activities." There is reportedly evidence that Rodgers used an acquaintance to place some bets on his own team during the 2022 season.
The NFL does not permit players to bet on any NFL games, to place bets on any other sports from team facilities or hotels, to have others place bets for them, to share "inside information" pertaining to bets, to partake in daily fantasy football, or to enter a sportsbook during the season, according to ESPN.
Earlier this year, Williams and fellow Lions wideout Stanley Berryhill were suspended six games for betting at team facilities, and Lions WR Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore, as well as Commanders defensive lineman Shaka Toney, were suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games. Of those players, Berryhill, Cephus and Moore were subsequently released.
