Colts WR LaVon Brazill Suspended for One Year
By Evan Reller
Colts wide receiver LaVon Brazill has been suspended by the NFL for one season under the league’s substance abuse policy.
Brazill has appeared in 25 games for the Colts and caught 23 passes for 374 yards and three touchdowns.
He was also suspended for four games to start last season for marijuana use. At training camp last year, Brazill stated that it came down to a choice between marijuana or money and that he’d choose money every time.
Apparently that was a lie and now it might cost him his career, at least with the Colts. The Colts appear to have a number of options at wide receiver behind Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, and Hakeem Nicks.
Brazill would likely have been fighting for a roster spot with Da’Rick Rogers, Griff Whalen, and rookie Donte Moncrief. This simply makes the decision easier for the coaching staff.
Brazill was drafted in 2012 from Ohio State in the sixth round. He has a ton of potential and looked to be making a bit of a leap last season with more reps on the field. At 5-11 and nearly 200-pounds, he provides a tough physical matchup and has the speed to burn most defenders.
In the postseason, he had six receptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns over two games.
The league’s stance on marijuana use is at an interesting cross roads. There are currently two states that allow the legal sale of pot, Washington and Colorado, with NFL franchises.
Rumors indicate that the league might lessen the punishment for marijuana use in exchange for better testing of human growth hormone (HGH). Some estimates put the use of HGH steroids around 40-percent of the players in the league.
The Colts did not make any public comment about Brazill’s suspension but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is no longer with the team following the holiday weekend.