WEDNESDAY, 4:30pm: The Florida Times-Union’s Ryan O’Halloran reports (via Twitter) that the NFL has announced that Sanders will be suspended for four games. Coach Gus Bradley spoke about the suspension of Jaguars.com Live (via John Oehser of Jaguars.com)…
“It is unfortunate,” he said. “You hate to lose a player of Ace’s caliber for a period of time. He’s a great teammate, and players really respect him. He’s very talented.
“We’ve talked to Ace and said, ‘When you come back from all of this we’re going to welcome you with open arms and, ‘Let’s get back to work.’ We’ve talked to our guys about, ‘You’ve got to get your world right, then the man becomes right.’
“That’s what he’s doing now. He’s getting himself right.”
TUESDAY, 6:36pm: In a conference call with reporters earlier this evening, Jaguars wide receiver Ace Sanders said that he is facing a four-game suspension and won’t be around for the majority of training camp, according to Mark Long of The Associated Press.
“I made some mistakes I do regret. I’m still dealing with it and trying to be a better person,” Sanders said, according to Long (on Twitter).
This is another tough blow for a Jaguars team that will most likely be without star Justin Blackmon for the 2014 season. Sanders had 51 receptions for Jacksonville in his rookie season, second only to Cecil Shorts‘ 66 catches and ahead of the soft-handed Maurice Jones-Drew. Sanders is undoubtedly bummed about missing one-quarter of the 2014 season, but football probably isn’t the first thing on his mind at the moment. The wide receiver said that he has been down a “tough road” and will seek counseling for his problems.