FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets linebacker Brandon Copeland was suspended by the NFL on Wednesday for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Copeland can still participate in the team’s preseason practices and games. He is eligible to return to the active roster on Oct. 7. In a post on Instagram, Copeland explained that he used a supplement that he believed adhered to NFL rules.
“This offseason, I began taking a supplement after multiple verifications that it was safe for me to use,” Copeland wrote. “Unfortunately, this supplement was contaminated with a banned substance — not on its label. Regardless of the reason, League policy says I am responsible for what is in my body.”
Copeland hinted that he would appeal the suspension.
“Although I can never make up for time loss on the field and away from my teammates who have become family, my team and I will be taking the necessary steps to rectify this situation to the fullest extent of the law,” he wrote.
The 28-year-old Copeland was a key contributor on defense and special teams last year, his first with the Jets. He had a career-high five sacks while starting 10 games. He wasn’t necessarily a lock to make the roster this season, particularly after playing deep into New York’s preseason game at Atlanta last week. But he has also been used in some starting packages by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams — and is listed as one of the starters at outside linebacker on the team’s depth chart, opposite Jordan Jenkins.
The suspension is the latest hit to New York’s linebacker corps after Avery Williamson was lost for the season with a torn knee ligament. The Jets signed Stephone Anthony on Tuesday, and he has some experience at outside linebacker. Frankie Luvu, Tarell Basham and Harvey Langi could see increased snaps there, and the Jets also have third-round draft pick Jachai Polite at the position.
KATY, Texas — Former Houston Texans star Mario Williams has been arrested on a misdemeanor charge accusing him of trespassing at a woman’s Houston-area home.
Harris County court records show Williams was arrested on Tuesday and freed on $100 bond. Online records don’t list an attorney to speak for Williams, the No. 1 draft pick in 2006 who spent six seasons with the Texans before joining Buffalo and then Miami in 2016.
Deputy Thomas Gilliland said sheriff’s deputies around 1 a.m. Tuesday responded to a report from a woman wanting someone removed from her home in Katy. Gilliland had no information on whether Williams, who lives in Houston, knows the woman.
Court records show Williams has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. A motion for an emergency protective order was also filed Tuesday.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins have broken ground on a $135 million training complex next to their stadium in north Miami-Dade County. The Dolphins’ training headquarters have been in Davie in Broward County since 1993, and they’re moving 8 miles south.
“Nobody ever won a Super Bowl training in Davie,” Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert said to laughter at the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday. The Dolphins’ most recent Super Bowl title came in the 1973 season.
Their new complex, scheduled to open in early 2021, will be nearly 25 percent larger than the team’s current home. It will include a two-story weight room, an outdoor practice area with two natural-grass fields and an indoor practice field.
— The Associated Press