Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers was suspended for the entirety of the 2023 season after violating the NFL’s gambling policy and was subsequently released by the Indianapolis Colts.
He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles last August and expressed remorse while speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“I made a mistake and I did my time and just being back around a great team and a great culture of guys—just finally getting in a locker room environment (and all that) back into my heart feels real good,” he said.
As for what people could learn from his situation, Rodgers—who was reinstated by the NFL in April—offered the following advice: “Rules are rules. They’re there for a reason. So, if you break them, you get your consequences. If you don’t, you continue to be great.”
Rodgers reportedly placed over 100 bets, including some on Colts’ games, that were generally in the $25 to $50 range. One bet reportedly was a $1,000 prop on Jonathan Taylor’s over-under rushing yards, his teammate at the time, which he won.
“That report is true, with it being $1,000, but that report wasn’t made from my device,” he told ESPN’s John Barr earlier in 2024. “The $25 to $50 bets are exactly true, but it was more crazy-leg parlays with just $25 trying to make a crazy amount. Just funny bets. Nothing too serious. It was never, ‘This bet here is going to change my life.'”
Rodgers has maintained that he was placing the bets for friends and families who lived in states where sports betting wasn’t legal, not for himself.
But the NFL found multiple violations of its gambling policy, including betting on his own team and betting from the Colts’ team facilities, leading to the one-year suspension. Gambling on your own team now carries a two-year suspension.
In Philadelphia, the 26-year-old Rodgers will battle for playing time in a suddenly crowded cornerbacks room, with veterans Darius Slay Jr., James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean and younger players like Kelee Ringo and Eli Ricks all jockeying for a place on the 53-man roster.
Players like Maddox and DeJean could end up seeing time at safety as well, opening up more roster spots for corners on the margins. And a player like Bradberry remains a candidate to either be traded or released after his rough 2023 season, though the Eagles would eat $15.1 million in dead cap to do so.
So Rodgers has a very real shot to settle into a solid role for the Eagles and maximize his second chance.