When Rams running back Isaiah Pead was suspended for one game earlier in the offseason, coach Jeff Fisher said he was disappointed but pleased with the progress he saw from Pead in the aftermath of the arrest that led to the suspension.
Fisher tried to find some silver lining to the four-game suspension handed down to linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar for violating the league’s performance enhancing drug policy, but it had nothing to do with Dunbar. Fisher called Dunbar “selfish” while saying that he hopes the rest of the team learned a lesson about how to conduct themselves.
“We’ve known about it for some time and, obviously, we’ve been dealing with it,” Fisher said, via Joe Lyons of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “First and foremost, we’re very, very disappointed in his choices and his decisions. It’s selfish, it hurts the team, but we also see it as an opportunity to learn from a mistake. We discussed it with the entire squad last night and I think everybody understands the responsibility that each and every player has as far as taking care of himself and what you can do and what you can’t do.”
Fisher confirmed that the Rams knew Dunbar was facing a suspension when they decided to sign Will Witherspoon, but said the suspension wasn’t the impetus for the move. He also didn’t seem to have much interest in Dunbar’s claim that he didn’t use PEDs -- Dunbar says he “mistakenly” took something that caused a positive test -- and said that Dunbar wasn’t promised anything in terms of returning to the starting lineup once he’s eligible to play in the team’s fifth game of the season.