After losing his appeal, Washington Redskins outside linebacker Trent Murphy will be suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances.
An NFL spokesperson said in a statement that Murphy would be suspended without pay, which is typical under league rules. Murphy is eligible to participate in offseason and preseason practices, workouts and games.
Redskins coach Jay Gruden said last month that losing Murphy, who developed into one of the team’s top defensive players last season, for a quarter of the regular season would be a tough blow to the team.
“It concerns me a lot,” Gruden said. “I think what he did last year, as far as improvement goes, how he had to try to gain weight and then lose weight to do whatever we asked him to do and play whatever position we asked him to play is just the type of guy that he is, so it’s unfortunate that this happened. But we’ll have to man the fort for four weeks until he comes back but I anticipate he’s going to have another strong year.”
Murphy was initially handed his suspension in March but appealed, according to a report from The Washington Post.
After accumulating six sacks in his first two years with the Redskins Murphy, a second-round pick in 2014, made nine sacks and forced three fumbles last season. He made an impression on the team not only through production but through toughness, playing in all 16 games despite an increasing list of injuries and continuing to grow as a linebacker after the team backtracked on its plans to move him to defensive end when Junior Galette got hurt.
• Nora Princiotti can be reached at nprinciotti@washingtontimes.com.
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