Jayron Kearse will begin his post-Vikings career a bit late. The NFL handed the fifth-year safety a three-game suspension Friday.
This ban stems from Kearse’s October 2019 DUI arrest. The new CBA includes harsher penalties for such incidents, with three games now the DUI baseline. The Lions signed Kearse to a one-year, $2MM deal in March.
One of several Vikings cogs to leave the team in March, Kearse played in 62 of a possible 64 regular-season games with Minnesota since 2016. He started five of those contests and played 270 defensive snaps last season, when he also continued his work as one of the Vikes’ top special-teamers.
The Lions have seen some turnover at safety recently. They traded Quandre Diggs last season and traded for longtime Patriots cog Duron Harmon this year. Kearse, however, has a better chance of upward mobility in Detroit than he did playing behind Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris in Minnesota. He will have to wait for a chance to potentially see first-string action, however.
This might give Bobby Price a shot. He’ll probably get cut or sent to the Practice Squad after three weeks though.
Just be careful. If he isn’t a starter, he will feel disrespected and won’t want to be there anymore.
Not condoning DUIs at all, but the guideline for discipline shouldn’t be based on the CBA of today, seeing his violation occurred on the previous CBA, and as such should be disciplined accordingly.
Agreed. Seems odd that the PA would allow that. This seems likely to be appealed.