The Detroit Lions were hit hard by gambling suspensions after the 2022 season. While Jameson Williams was the player that was on top of everyone's minds, there were three other players that had much worse suspensions. One of them was safety C.J. Moore.
Moore joined the Lions as an undrafted free agent after the 2019 NFL Draft and he impressed right away as a special teams player. He impressed enough to make the Lions 53-man roster that year too. Moore never looked back. He continued to get better every year and the Lions signed him to a two-year extension in March of 2023.
Moore was expected to be a big part of the Lions special teams and would continue to get more opportunities on defense as well. Unfortunately just a little over a month after signing his extension, he was part of a gambling investigation that found he was betting on NFL games.
The league gave him an indefinite suspension and the Lions released him. As of Thursday, he has officially been reinstated by the NFL along with former teammate Quintez Cephus.
Stanley Berryhill, the third player was reinstated during the 2023 season.
Now that Moore is back, the Lions might want to bring him back to be in his old special teams role. Especially since they only have two safeties that are currently on the roster. This wouldn't prevent the Lions from drafting someone or anything like that, but it would help them have depth. This is one to keep an eye on. The team clearly loved him.
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