The 2026 NFL season will open on Sept. 9, and several teams are already preparing to start without key players. Some absences are tied to injuries, but a handful of names will be missing because the league has handed down suspensions before the first snap.
The longest ban on the list belongs to Falcons defensive end James Pearce Jr., who was suspended for the first eight games after the NFL ruled he violated the league’s personal conduct policy. Pearce was arrested earlier this offseason and charged with three felonies, including aggravated battery and resisting an officer with violence.
He later entered a pretrial intervention program, which could lead to the charges being dropped if he avoids further legal trouble during the program. After posting 10.5 sacks as a rookie, he’ll now sit out nearly half of his sophomore season.
Two players are set to miss the first six games for performance-enhancing substances violations. Titans cornerback Nazeeh Johnson, who signed with Tennessee this offseason, was suspended without pay after the league found a violation of its policy.
Johnson later said on social media that he had taken a fertility medication to help him and his wife conceive a child, not realizing the medication was banned. He was also placed on injured reserve earlier this month after reportedly undergoing ankle surgery.
Saints receiver Brock Rechsteiner is also facing a six-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy. Rechsteiner joined New Orleans this spring after going undrafted following five seasons at Jacksonville State.
A trio of players will be unavailable for the first three games of the year. Bills defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis was suspended for violating the NFL’s substances of abuse policy, with ESPN reporting the punishment stems from an alcohol-related incident in the spring of 2025. Mathis is entering his fifth NFL season and second with Buffalo, and he’ll miss matchups with the Texans, Lions and Chargers.
Vikings receiver Jeshaun Jones is in the same boat after receiving a three-game suspension for violating the league’s substances of abuse policy, according to Kevin Seifert of ESPN. The third-year receiver, a former undrafted free agent who has spent much of the past two seasons on Minnesota’s practice squad, will be out for games against the Bears, Buccaneers and Dolphins.
Veteran edge rusher Dorance Armstrong will miss the opener only, after the NFL suspended him for one game for violating the personal conduct policy. Armstrong, entering his third season with Washington and ninth in the league, will sit out the Commanders’ game against the Eagles after being arrested in May 2025 on misdemeanor charges of assault causing bodily injury and resisting arrest, per ESPN.
The Colts will also be without corner Cam Taylor-Britt in Week 1. Indianapolis signed Taylor-Britt in March to a one-year deal, but he received a one-game suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after being arrested for reckless driving in Cincinnati in 2025. His absence will come against the Ravens.
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