Cardinals receiver Zay Jones has been suspended five games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, the league announced Friday.
Jones was arrested on a domestic battery charge in mid-November and spent a night in Duval County Jail before being released on bond the following day. The state attorney's office later dropped the misdemeanor charge, stating it "declines to prosecute this defendant for these charges."
The NFL, however, deemed the incident to be in violation of its policy, leading the league to ban the veteran receiver.
A second-round pick out of East Carolina in 2017, Jones has bounced around the NFL during his seven seasons, beginning with Buffalo before moving onto the Raiders (2019-2021) and Jaguars (2022-23). After posting a career-best 823 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2022, Jones appeared in just nine games for the Jaguars in 2023 due to multiple injuries, and left for Arizona in free agency in May, signing a one-year deal with the Cardinals.
Jones will have to spend the first five weeks away from the team once the regular season begins before he can return to resume his career with his new team. He is eligible to return ahead of Arizona's Week 6 game at the Packers on Sunday, Oct. 13.