Reports: Ex-Browns WR Callaway loses appeal of 10-game ban

Former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Antonio Callaway must serve a 10-game suspension after losing his appeal, according to multiple reports published on Friday. Callaway's suspension was for his second violation of the league's substance-abuse policy, which he and his agent attributed to a tainted CBD product.

The Browns waived Callaway on Thursday, four days after he was benched, and shortly before NFL Network reported his suspension. Callaway was a late scratch for the Browns' 19-16 home victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday for what multiple outlets reported was a late arrival to the game.

Callaway, 22, was a fourth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, after the Browns traded up to get him. Most considered him a first-round talent, but legal issues and his dismissal from the team at Florida damaged his draft status. In August 2018, four months after he was drafted, Callaway was cited for marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license, charges that were dropped in February.

Callaway played in all 16 games as a rookie and totaled 43 catches for 586 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games (11 starts as a rookie). But he was suspended four games under the substance-abuse policy -- stemming from the 2018 citation -- to start this season. In four games (two starts) since the suspension, he had only eight catches for 89 yards.

 

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