The Cardinals are going to have to start the season without one of their newest members on offense.
Arizona wide receiver Zay Jones has been suspended for the first five games of the 2024 NFL regular season, the league announced on Friday.
The eighth-year WR signed a deal with the Cardinals this offseason after spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Jaguars. He was expected to be one of the team's depth options for QB Kyler Murray, behind 2024 No. 4 overall pick Marvin Harrison Jr. and Greg Dortch.
Jones played nine games for Jacksonville last season, bringing in 34 catches for 321 yards and two touchdowns.
Here is more on Jones' suspension.
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Why was Zay Jones suspended?
Jones was suspended for "violating the league’s personal conduct policy."
NFL announced that Cardinals WR Zay Jones also has been suspended five games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 23, 2024
In addition to Jones, Rams offensive lineman Alaric Jackson has been banned for two games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Zay Jones arrest
Jones was arrested in November 2023 on a misdemeanor battery charge in Jacksonville.
According to the arrest report, an alleged incident occurred where he got into an argument with the mother of his child. The woman alleged in the report that the wide receiver "was upset" and an argument ensued after she requested that she take her child back to Orlando.
The report indicated the officer at the scene saw small scratches on the woman's neck that were "consistent with marks from a fingernail."
The charges were dropped in March 2024. Assistant state attorney Maria Theresa Ryan wrote in a disposition notice that "after reviewing the evidence in the above-styled case, the undersigned Assistant State Attorney declines to prosecute this defendant for these charges."
While the charges were dropped, the NFL ran its own investigation and decided to suspend Jones for five games, per the NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Zay Jones contract
Jones signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Cardinals this offseason.
It makes him an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024 season.