The NFL is investigating a Colts player for a possible violation of the league’s gambling policy, a team official confirmed to The Athletic on Monday. Sports Handle’s Matt Rybaltowski first reported the investigation. Here’s what you need to know:

• The Colts said in a statement they “are aware of the NFL’s investigation” and “will have no further comment at this time.”
• At this time, the Colts player remains unnamed.
• In April, the NFL suspended five players — one from the Commanders and four from the Lions — for violating the league’s gambling policy. The Athletic reported last month that a fifth Lions player is now being investigated.
• ESPN reported in May that the league is investigating a “second wave of potential violations of its gambling policy.”

Backstory

Lions safety C.J. Moore and wide receiver Quintez Cephus received indefinite suspensions in April for betting on NFL action, and wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill received six-game suspensions for placing bets on non-NFL action while at Detroit’s facility, a violation of the league’s gambling policy. The Lions released Moore and Cephus immediately. On May 9, the team released Berryhill.

Commanders defensive lineman Shaka Toney was also suspended indefinitely for betting on NFL games.

League sources told The Athletic in May that a fifth Lions player is under investigation for a potential violation. The Athletic is not naming the player at this time because the investigation is ongoing. The player currently under investigation was not a prominent member of the 2022 team.

Four Lions team employees were also fired in March for violating the NFL’s gambling policy, The Athletic reported.

In April, the NFLPA sent a memo to all NFL agents that addressed the recent suspensions for violations of the gambling policy and warned them that players should never open or use a mobile gambling app while at work.

NFL gambling policy prohibits team staff, league staff and players from placing bets on any sport at any league facility, including stadiums that house sportsbooks, or while traveling with their teams.

What this means for the Colts

The Colts are beginning a new era after hiring first-time head coach Shane Steichen and drafting a potential franchise quarterback, Anthony Richardson, with the No. 4 pick. The former Florida signal-caller has been under a microscope since he arrived in Indianapolis, and while that trend will continue, a gambling violation by one of Richardson’s new teammates obviously qualifies as a distraction for him and the rest of the franchise.

Toney, Moore and Cephus were all suspended indefinitely. Moore and Cephus (and later, Berryhill) were subsequently cut from the Lions.

If this Colts player gambled on NFL games, the penalty will surely be hefty. For a franchise that’s trying to distance itself from last year’s 4-12-1 campaign that was filled with “chaos,” as center Ryan Kelly called it earlier this offseason, a gambling violation is not a good start. — Boyd

Required reading

(Photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today)