NFL suspends Broncos player for gambling violation

The NFL has suspended a Denver Broncos player indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy.

According to a league news release, Broncos defensive end Eyioma Uwazurike was handed down the punishment for betting on league games during the 2022 NFL season. 

The league added that Uwazurike will be eligible to petition for reinstatement no earlier than July 24, 2024. 

Uwazurike, a former Iowa State standout, was a fourth-round pick by the Broncos in last year’s NFL draft. According to ESPN, Uwazurike, 25, appeared in 8 games for the Broncos last season, participating in 165 defensive snaps. 

The Broncos told ESPN in a statement that they were informed about Uwazurike’s suspension, saying “our organization fully cooperated with this investigation and takes matters pertaining to the integrity of the game very seriously.”

Uwazurike is the latest in a slew of NFL players who have been suspended this year for violating the league’s gambling policy. 

The NFL last month suspended former Indianapolis Colts defensive back Isaiah Rodgers Sr. and defensive end Rashod Berry and free agent defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor indefinitely for betting on league games in 2022. 

​​Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere was also suspended by the league for six games for betting on non-NFL sports at the team’s facility.

The league also suspended five players — four from the Detroit Lions and one from the Washington Commanders earlier this year for violating the league’s gambling policy.

Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore and Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney were suspended indefinitely by the league for betting on NFL games. Additionally, Lions wide receivers Jameson Williams, a 2022 first-round pick, and Stanley Berryhill received six-game suspensions from the league for betting on non-NFL games from a team facility. Cephus, Moore and Berryhill were later released by the Lions. 

The NFL’s gambling policy prohibits players, including league personnel, from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or league facility or venue, including the practice facility.