Mike Shanahan and the Redskins announced yesterday that the team has suspended tight end Fred Davis and tackle Trent Williams four games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.
The league said yesterday that the two players will be suspended without pay and will be able to return to the team's active roster on Jan. 2, the day after the Redskins' final regular season game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
This is not the first time that Davis and Williams have failed drug tests, as multiple reports have stated that both players have failed more than one drug test for the NFL.
On Wednesday, both players apologized to their teammates at a team meeting. Both players will miss the final four games of the regular season and it will hurt the Redskins, as both players have played vital roles for the Redskins, albeit their 4-8 record.
Davis is the team's leader in receptions and has arguably been the most consistent receiver for Rex Grossman and John Beck. Williams, the fourth overall pick a little over a year ago, is also perhaps the team's best offensive lineman, and also one of the most expensive players on the roster.Williams signed a six-year, $60 million deal after he was selected in the first round of last year's draft. After the season is over, he will have four years remaining on his current deal, while Davis' contract will be up and will have to test the free agency waters.
Although being one of the league's best up-and-coming tight ends, Davis' stock will certainly take a hit and it is unlikely that he will receive a deal like Vernon Davis and Antonio Gates have signed in recent years.
The former USC Trojan has caught 59 passes for 796 yards and three touchdowns this season.
But there is no doubt that Davis will likely receive a relatively small deal in free agency next season.
Head coach Mike Shanahan said of Davis, "Any contract that anybody would sign somebody to, knowing that with one failed test they could be gone just like that. They're going to protect themselves in the contract, and it'll be based on performance and based on going down the straight and narrow."
And Shanahan is right. There is no reason why a team would give a player a hefty contract when there is always the possibility of them being suspended by the NFL for making dumb and/or irrational decisions.
Shanahan has said that Sean Locklear and rookie Willie Allen have split snaps at right tackle and it is not known who will get the majority of the snaps when the Redskins play the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The Redskins have already lost Chris Cooley for the season due to injury, so they will be forced to start Logan Paulsen, who was the team's third-string tight end at the beginning of the season. Another former Trojan, Dominique Byrd, will be Paulsen's back-up. Byrd was re-signed Wednesday after being released by the team on Nov. 8.
Clearly, the team is disappointed at the circumstances and Williams will be even more disappointed once he realizes how much it'll hurt his pocket-book for missing the team's final four games.
Williams could forfeit twenty-five percent of the $300,000 signing bonus for this season, along with twenty-five percent of the $1.5 million roster bonus.
At the end of the day, Williams would lose a minimum of $1.847 million and a maximum of $2.347 million after it's all said and done with. That would be able to buy Williams a lot of fancy cars and new toys, but he won't get those now because of the mystery drug he failed for.
With two of their best offensive players gone because of the suspension, the Redskins' offense is likely to falter in the Redskins' final four games. The Redskins might be lucky to win one of the final games and could very well end the season with another disappointing campaign and a 4-12 record.
But hey, if it does happen, they'll get a high draft pick and could possibly draft a quarterback, which they are in dire need for -- such as Baylor's Robert Griffin III, Oklahoma's Landry Jones or USC's Matt Barkley. We'll find out what happens in the next few weeks with one of the NFL's most disappointing franchises over the last decade.
