Bears LB Jerrell Freeman Suspended

Bears linebacker Jerrell Freeman has been suspended once again for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, the league announced. This time around, it’s a ten-game ban. 

Freeman suffered a torn pectoral muscle on the first play of Bears’ opener against the Falcons in Week 1. He was placed on injured reserve after the game, but he remarkably still played roughly 95 percent of the Bears’ defensive snaps and racked up 10 tackles in their 23-17 defeat.

The linebacker was likely done for the year anyway, but this new ban seals the deal since there are just eight games left in the year. His suspension begins immediately, per the NFL, so he will not receive his salary while on IR.

Freeman has now accrued two PED bans inside of a year. This latest suspension will cost Freeman upwards of $2MM in take-home pay.

Freeman will be eligible to play early in 2018, but this could be the end of the line for him in the NFL. In a statement released on Twitter, Freeman explained that he has been dealing with a significant head injury. That injury, he says, led him to self-medicate with pills that triggered his positive test.

“I hate to [say] I’m sorry again but I am sorry. I’ve been on IR all year and you try and stay out of sight, but sorry for the distraction. I had been lying to friends, family, and loved ones when it came to the question of, “Are you okay?,” Freeman wrote. “Knowing my career may be over due [to] everything that came with the head injury {that’s been purposely downplayed by me), memory loss and all, has actually been a bit of a struggle. That being said, there’s no excuse to cope with any problems by taking any kind of pills. I don’t know my future but a big thanks to the Bears and the NFL, if I would have used their programs and services earlier than I did, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Sorry again for the distraction.”