Kirthmon F. Dozier / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Lions make the right move bringing back C.J Moore after he served a year long gambling suspension

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Mike Payton | Last updated 5/7/24

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. The league reinstated Moore before the 2024 NFL Draft and on Tuesday, the Lions brought him back.

Free agent safety C. J. Moore is re-signing with the #Lions on a 1-year deal, source said. After serving a gambling suspension that took away his 2023, Moore is back in Detroit.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 7, 2024

Moore being back really helps the Lions with their safety depth. He is a likely shoe in to make the 53-man roster and be a big part of the team's special teams.

Some Lions fans were not big on the idea of bringing back Moore after he was reinstated, but it made a lot of sense for the Lions to do so since he was a model teammate and the coaching staff loved what he was able to bring to the roster. Sometimes people make mistakes. They shouldn't have be excluded forever because of that. Moore is a welcomed sight for a team that needs safety help.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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