Commanders 'Disappointed' For Suspended DE Shaka Toney

Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney was suspended for the 2023 season after betting on NFL games.

Jeremy Brener | May 3, 2023

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Washington Commanders

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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Published May 3, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.