NFL suspends free-agent LB Darron Lee four games

Darron Lee‘s return to NFL action will have to wait until at least October. The former first-round pick has encountered another suspension.

The league handed the free-agent linebacker a four-game suspension, ESPN.com’s Field Yates reports. The Chiefs did not re-sign Lee this offseason.

This marks Lee’s second NFL ban. The league sidelined him four games for a violation of its substance-abuse policy in December 2018. Lee had started all 12 of the 2018 Jets’ games leading up to that penalty. However, the Jets cut their losses via trade in the following offseason.

After failing to justify the Jets’ first-round investment, Lee made some contributions to the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIV run. Kansas City acquired Lee for a sixth-round pick and featured him in all 16 regular-season games. The Ohio State alum made 31 tackles last season. Lee, however, did not play during the Chiefs’ postseason slate.