According to a tweet from Bill Voth, Carolina Panthers tight end Kent Taylor has been suspended for the first four games of the season after violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy.
TE Kent Taylor, who joined the p-squad late last season and signed a future contract in Jan., has been suspended four games for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy.
— Bill Voth (@PanthersBill) April 20, 2018
Taylor is the second Panthers player to be suspended for the first four games of the 2018 season after linebacker Thomas Davis revealed he was also sitting out the first quarter of the 2018 campaign. Like Davis, Taylor will be eligible to return to the Panthers’ lineup on Monday, October 8 — the day after Carolina’s Week 5 matchup against the New York Giants. (Both Davis and Taylor have to wait until after Week 5 because the Panthers have a bye week during Week 4.)
Taylor has spent all of his time in Carolina on the practice squad and hasn’t made any appearances for the Panthers yet, but they must have seen something of value in him to sign him to a futures contract last January. There’s no word yet on whether or not this will have any effect on his contract with the team, but we’ll be sure to provide any information on that front whenever it becomes available.