Jaelen Strong Gets One-Game Suspension

The NFL has suspended Texans wide receiver Jaelen Strong for Week 1 for a violation of its substance abuse policy, Josina Anderson of ESPN reports (on Twitter). The ban stems from a 2016 arrest on marijuana possession, Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk notes, and will keep Strong out of action for a home matchup against the AFC South rival Jaguars.

Jaelen Strong

The 23-year-old Strong joins Will Fuller as the second prominent member of the Texans’ receiving corps who won’t be available for the season opener. While Strong’s absence will be a short-term one, Fuller will miss several weeks of the regular season on account of a broken collarbone. Without those two around against Jacksonville, quarterback Tom Savage won’t have much to choose from at wideout behind DeAndre Hopkins and Braxton Miller, though the Texans do have a pair of productive tight ends in C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin.

Strong, whom the Texans chose in Round 3 of the 2015 draft, hasn’t been all that productive to this point. He caught 14 passes in each of his first two seasons, and after hauling in three touchdowns as a rookie, he failed to find the end zone in eight appearances last year.

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