Coming out of their Week 9 bye, the Redskins will be without Trent Williams for a month, as the tackle was suspended four games by the NFL.
The league suspended Williams for violating the NFL Policy and Program for Substance Abuse, the NFL announced on Tuesday afternoon.
"Today, Trent Williams was suspended by the NFL under the terms of the Policy and Program on Substances of Abuse for the next four games," the Redskins said in a statement. "We met with Trent today to discuss this unfortunate news. Per the terms of the Policy, Trent will be permitted to participate in team meetings and workout at the Redskins' facilities throughout this time. The Redskins are counting on Trent to help our team when he returns from suspension. Our focus will now turn to the Minnesota Vikings after our bye this upcoming weekend.
"Any questions related to this matter should be directed to the NFL or NFLPA."
This is a highly sub-optimal time for Williams to be gone. The Redskins have four tough matchups coming up on the schedule.
Washington gets the Vikings and Packers at home in Weeks 10 and 11 after the bye and then face the Cowboys and Cardinals (both on the road), with the Dallas game coming on a short week for Thanksgiving.
After losing on a close field goal to the Bengals in London last week, the Redskins need all the wins they can get in a difficult NFC East that features four teams with winning records.
Williams signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension prior to the 2015 season.
