4 Games!

The NFL "finally" announced yesterday it's punishment of Minnesota Vikings receiver Michael Floyd for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substances of Abuse. 4 games. From the Vikings side of things there might've been some hope for a two-game suspension but four was always the more realistic number. Floyd is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games. Once the regular season starts he's out and won't be eligible to return to Minnesota's active roster until Monday, October 2, following the team's Week 4 games against the Detroit Lions.

The Vikings first four games:
Week 1: New Orleans Saints
Week 2: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 3: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 4: Detroit Lions

Each is a tough game but the Vikings were expecting something close to this when they signed him. It's one of the reasons a player as talented and proven as Floyd was still available when the Vikings signed on May 10.

Floyd put himself in this situation. He was arrested in December for extreme DUI in Scottsdale. The Arizona Cardinals promptly released him. The New England Patriots picked him up and gave him a few football tasks. He got a Super Bowl ring. So there's that.The Patriots chose not to re-sign Floyd and he became a free agent. The "free" part only applied to football. He had a prison sentence. He served the first 24 days of his 120-day jail sentence at a county facility before spending the final 96 days in home confinement. In addition to jail time, he was ordered not to drink alcohol, undergo alcohol counseling, perform 30 hours community service and pay a fine of $5,115.99. During the homestretch of his home confinement Floyd was flagged for positive alcohol tests. This resulted in his well-publicized Kombucha tea defense. He didn't realize that the beverage contained alcohol and he had apparently consumed a lot of it. Despite his explanation being a little flimsy the Vikings stood by their receiver. He didn't get any extra legal punishment but it probably didn't help his looming NFL suspension. The Vikings' may have stood by their player but that trust only goes so far. Head coach Mike Zimmer apparently told Floyd that he'd cut him if he found out that some un-truths were told. Some have speculated that this could be the beginning of the end of Floyd's brief stay in Minnesota. I don't see it. The Vikings knew all along that a suspension was likely. If that was a concern why sigh him at all? If they were going to cut him at the slightest setback they would've done so after the positive alcohol flags and the sketchy "Kombucha defense." Unless he does another truly stupid thing or it's found that he lied to the team the Vikings appear committed to giving Floyd an opportunity to salvage his promising football career. He now has 12 games to do that.