Linebacker Darron Lee of the New York Jets will miss the rest of the regular season after being suspended by the NFL on Friday for violating the league’s Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse.
The 6-1, 232-pound Lee, selected by the Jets with the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft out of Ohio State, is set to enter the final year of his four-year, $10.2 million rookie contract in 2019. The suspension will cost him about $344,750.
Whether the Jets will pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract by the May deadline has been a question because he was something of a disappointment in his first two seasons in New York.
However, Lee has played better this season with 74 tackles, including five for losses, five passes defensed, and the first three interceptions of his career, including a pick-6 in the season opener that helped the Jets beat the Detroit Lions.
The 24-year-old Lee, who also has assumed done some of the Jets’ on-field play calling, will be eligible to return to the active roster the day after New York’s season finale against the New England Patriots on Dec. 30.
The Jets (3-9) will carry a their six-game losing streak into Sunday’s road game against the Buffalo Bills.
