Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney is currently serving a year-long suspension after violating the league's gambling policy.
This means that the third-year pro out of Penn State won't play at all for the Commanders this season in a campaign that was expected to have a lot of growth for Toney.
"It's unfortunate and a little disappointed for the young man," head coach Ron Rivera said. "I mean, he's a guy that really came on for us last year at the end of the season and with what's going on, obviously it's something that he's dealing with on his own with his agent and the league. So for us, we've just gotta be able to move forward and hopefully in a year's time, we'll see what happens.”
For the Commanders, losing Toney is a knock to the defensive line depth. He played in 16 games last season for Washington, mostly on special teams, recording eight tackles.
Washington will be led by Chase Young and Montez Sweat as the team's primary pass rushers. Then, James Smith-Williams, Casey Toohill and William Bradley-King are expected to have rotational roles. The same can also be said for fifth-round rookie KJ Henry, who will likely have an opportunity to completely eclipse Toney's role during the 2023 season.
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