New England Patriots’ LeGarrette Blount Suspended For One Game

New England Patriots’ running back LeGarrette Blount will be suspended for the first game of the 2015 season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The suspension comes from an August 20 incident, where him and his Pittsburgh Steelers teammate, Le’Veon Bell, were arrested for marijuana possession.

The charges against Blount were eventually dropped when he agreed to do community service. He was eventually cut from the AFC North team in November, but that was due to poor play and not the arrest. He was quickly picked up by the New England Patriots, a team he played for during the 2013 season, and became their workhorse running back.

After only 255 yards and two touchdowns in eleven games with the Steelers, he posted 281 yards and three touchdowns in five with the Pats. And this is not even including his postseason run of 189 rushing yards and three touchdowns in three games.

The suspension will result in Blount losing roughly “$48,685 in base salary… [on top of his] $6,250 per-game roster bonus,” according to ESPN.

At the moment, the Patriots’ number two back is Jonas Grey — who enjoyed mild success last year — and their third is James White. It is a possibility that Bill Belichick will turn to the NFL Draft to fill the void in their backfield.