5 NFL players who were suspended for smoking Marijuana ft. Josh Gordon

The NFL officially changed its policy on marijuana use during the 2021 offseason. The changes were made as part of the new CBA agreement by the league's front office as well as the NFLPA union. Players will now only be drug tested for marijuana once per year at the beginning of training camp. If they fail, they will only be fined rather than suspended.

The news of the policy change was a welcome announcement for many players around the league. It's reportedly something the union has been fighting for a while as many players believe in the benefits of marijuana treatment.

However, many NFL players probably wish this policy would have changed earlier. A number of players have already been suspended at some point during their careers for smoking marijuana. Here are five of them.

#1 - Randy Gregory

Randy Gregory has spent his entire career so far with the Dallas Cowboys, where he has recorded 16.5 sacks across five seasons with the franchise. He will enter the 2022 NFL season as a member of the Denver Broncos after switching teams during the 2022 free agency period.

"[Randy Gregory] is a good young man who has worked very hard to address some challenging issues."

Cowboys coach Jason Garrett discusses DE Randy Gregory's suspension: https://t.co/P0n69KlvYb

Gregory received several suspensions for failed drug tests during his time with the Cowboys. He appeared in just two games during the 2016 NFL season and was also suspended for the entire 2017 and 2019 seasons. All of the violations were due to failed marijuana tests.

#2 - Darren Waller

Darren Waller is a success story for the way he overcame addiction. He has been open about his long battle, which started when he was young and affected the early part of his NFL career.

While with the Baltimore Ravens, Waller was suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season as well as the entire 2017 season. His failed drug tests included marijuana, among other things. He signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2018 and claims to have been completely sober ever since.