Darron Lee suspended four games for violation of league’s substance abuse policy

Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been suspended four games for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

The Jets have four games on his schedule, which means Lee’s 2018 season is over. The silver lining is there will be no spillover into 2019, which means he should be back in the lineup for Week 1.

This is a disappointing end to the Ohio State product’s third season in the NFL. Lee was enjoying his best pro campaign. He had 74 tackles, 4 sacks, and 3 interceptions in 12 games. While his play was up and down, it was a marked improvement over his first two NFL seasons, where he struggled mightily.

Lee’s absence could mean that we see more Kevin Pierre-Louis at linebacker. Lee briefly left Sunday’s game against the Titans with an injury, and Pierre-Louis stepped in during that stretch.

The Jets will need to decide whether to pick up Lee’s fifth year option this offseason.