The Associated Press
The NFL has suspended starting cornerback Johnathan Joseph for Sunday's game at Kansas City, the Cincinnati Bengals said Tuesday.
Joseph is going forfeit his salary for both this game and the Jets game on Oct. 21, the club said. He was suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The second-year pro was arrested in northern Kentucky on Jan. 22 after a Boone County sheriff's deputy stopped a vehicle he was a passenger in and smelled marijuana, according to the police report. Joseph told the deputy he had marijuana in his Super Bowl backpack, where it was found, the report said.
He was placed in a diversionary program open to first-time offenders and the Bengals said Tuesday he complied with all league and law-enforcement obligations to resolve the case.
A 2006 first-round pick from South Carolina, Joseph can't take part in practices this week, but can attend meetings and work out on his own, the Bengals said. He can rejoin the team Monday.
A Bengals spokesman said the club had no further comment.
Joseph was the ninth Bengals player arrested on a variety of charges over a nine-month period.
Two other Bengals - linebacker Odell Thurman and receiver Chris Henry - are suspended by the league. Thurman sat out last season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, and his request for reinstatement this season was turned down by commissioner Roger Goodell.
Henry will miss the first eight games of the season for repeatedly violating the league's conduct policy.
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