Written by Carlos Monarrez at Detroit Free Press.com
Detroit Lions defensive end Armonty Bryant has found trouble again and has been suspended for the first four games this season for violating the NFL’s policy for substances of abuse, the league said Tuesday in a released statement.
Bryant, 26, will be eligible to return to the Lions’ active roster Oct. 2. He is allowed to participate in all of the team’s preseason games and practices.
The Lions declined to comment on Bryant’s latest suspension.
The latest suspension is the third in a year for Bryant, whom the Lions claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Browns in October.
He served a four-game suspension last season while he was with the Browns for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Bryant then served a three-game suspension midway through the season while with the Lions for violating the league’s policy on drugs of abuse, which stemmed from a 2015 arrest on a misdemeanor charge for attempted drug possession.
Shortly after Bryant joined the Lions, he said he spoke with front-office personnel about cleaning up his act.
“Quite a bit,” he said. “That’s my goal. Clean up my act a little bit. But that’s just the past. I’m just here to help the team win.”
Despite Bryant’s troubled past, the Lions signed him to a one-year deal for $855,000 in March after he showed good production, registering three sacks and a forced fumble in five games last season.
