Colts LB D’Qwell Jackson suspended four games without pay for PED violation
Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson has been suspended by the NFL for four games without pay, for violating the league’s PED policy.
The Indianapolis Colts will be without linebacker D’Qwell Jackson for the next four games. On Tuesday, he was suspended without pay for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs. Adam Schefter reported the suspension via Twitter.
The suspension will effectively end his regular season. He would be eligible to return to the team on January 2, 2017, the day after the regular season ends. It’s bad timing for Jackson and the Colts (6-6), who are currently locked in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC South. They share the lead with the Tennessee Titans and struggling Houston Texans.
jackson has led the Colts in tackles in each of his three seasons in Indianapolis, and currently leads the team again with 78 tackles and a sack. According to a report from ESPN, Jackson left Monday’s game against the New York Jets with a concussion. After going through concussion protocol, it wasn’t clear whether would’ve been cleared anyway for this week’s matchup against the Texans.
Jackson, 33, is in his 11th season in the NFL. He spent the first eight years of his career with the Cleveland Browns (2006-2013), before signing with the Colts in 2014. His interception of Tom Brady in the 2014 AFC Championship Game was highly publicized following the now-infamous Deflategate scandal that rocked the NFL.
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If Jackson intends on playing again this season, the Colts must make the playoffs. As noted, they are currently locked in a divisional tie for first place. They will face one of those teams, the Texans on Sunday, in hopes of increasing those chances. As far as the rest of their schedule beyond the Texans is concerned, they will travel to Minnesota and Oakland before finishing the season at home against the Jaguars