Cardinals ILB Daryl Washington Suspended For The Entire 2014 Season

Update:

The Arizona Cardinals have confirmed that ILB Daryl Washington has in fact been suspended for “at least” the entire 2014 season.

“It’s completely unacceptable that Daryl has once again put us in this position,” Cardinals GM Steve Keim said, via AzCardinals.com. “We all know what the consequences are and will deal with them. From a personal standpoint, our hope is that this suspension will give Daryl the opportunity to accept the necessary help and guidance to get his life back on track and we will certainly support him however we can.

“As it pertains to our team, our approach is the same as it’s always been: next man up. We talk a lot about how critical depth is to a team because situations always arise where you lose players, whether by injury or other circumstances such as this one. One player’s absence is another’s opportunity. That approach has served us well in the past and we will rely on it now.”

Washington has released a statement via his agent, Jordan Woy, regarding the situation.

Daryl Washington Statement on suspension: pic.twitter.com/pUfxyx9WlY

— Jordan Woy (@JordanWoy) May 30, 2014

Washington’s suspension will cost him his $2.9 million base salary as well as $100,000 in workout bonuses this year, according to Aaron Wilson.

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Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 reports that Cardinals ILB Daryl Washington will be suspended for the entire 2014 season.

• Jurecki has already confirmed the news with a player.

Just a few days ago, Jurecki reported that Washington could receive a longer than expected suspension from the league, but it would be surprising to see him receive a year-long suspension.

Arizona brought in veteran ILB Ernie Sims for a workout in recent days and HC Bruce Arians mentioned that he would like to add some more depth at the position.

Washington was sentenced to one year of probation for aggravated assault. The incident specifically involved him choking the mother of his child and led to her suffering a broken collarbone. Washington would later plead guilty to the charges.

We have been waiting to hear what the league plans to do in regards to punishment. Washington missed the first four games of the 2013 season for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, so it will be interesting to see what Roger Goodell elects to do.

There is no question that Washington is among the most dynamic linebackers in the game and his presence would certainly be missed.

Washington, 27, still has four years remaining on his six-year, $32.5 million contract. He’ll make a base salary of $2.9 million for the upcoming season and another $3.4 million in 2015.

In 2013, Washington appeared in 12 games and totaled 75 tackles, three sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Pro Football Focus has Washington rated as the No. 21 inside linebacker in the league this past season.