Former LSU running back Derrius Guice receives six-game suspension

Former LSU running back Derrius Guice will serve a six-game suspension to start the NFL season, per NFL insider Ian Rapoport. The Washington Football Team cut the former second-round pick in last August in the midst of domestic violence charges. He remains a free agent.

Guice and the woman involved reached a settlement in June, and a judge dismissed the charges.

The result means the running back will avoid a criminal trial and come away with a clean record. He avoids charges of felony strangulation in addition to four misdemeanors during a six-month period of arguments with his then-girlfriend.

Guice recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a sophomore and junior at LSU. The Tigers finished 9-4 in his final season, falling to Notre Dame in the Citrus Bowl. He was the seventh running back taken off the board in the 2018 NFL draft.

His NFL career has been tainted with injuries. He tore his ACL in the preseason opener and missed his entire rookie season. He returned in 2019 but tore his meniscus in the season opener against Philadelphia. He spent the next eight weeks on injured reserve before returning on Nov. 17. He played four more games before being placed on IR once again. Guice played just five games with Washington in 2019, finishing with 245 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

The legal issues that surfaced in the 2020 offseason appeared to be the end for Guice. After he was cut, he faded out of the spotlight, simply one of many NFL free agents looking for a job.

The resolution of his case could open to door for another team to take a chance on him. He already has a date for return, and can spend the next couple of months training to ensure he is in shape for any opportunity he gets.

Derrius Guice’s journey in the NFL has thus far been a turbulent one, so it would be nice to see him turn things around after his suspension.

Photo courtesy of Scott Taetsch/Getty Images.