Raiders’ Nevin Lawson suspended Weeks 1 and 2 for PED violation

Nevin Lawson, a cornerback who will compete to replace the departed Lemarcus Joyner as the Raiders’ slot cornerback, was suspended two games Friday for being in violation of the NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

It’s the second straight season Lawson will miss Weeks 1 and 2 of the regular season. He served a two-game suspension in 2020 for swinging his helmet in a postgame altercation with the Denver Broncos in the 2019 regular-season finale.

As a member of the Detroit Lions in 2019, Lawson missed the first four games on a PED suspension.

Lawson returned to the Raiders on a one-year contract worth $1,125 million, according to overthecap.com. Losing two weeks’ pay while on suspension will amount to more than $132,000.

In two seasons after joining the Raiders as a free agent from Detroit, Lawson has played in 25 games with 14 starts.

With the departure of Joyner, who was released and signed with the New York Jets, Lawson is expected to compete for the vacant slot cornerback role along with Amik Robertson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2020.

Lawson will be able to work out and practice with the club through all off-season activities as well as training camp but will be placed on suspension going into the opener. That gives a two-game head start for Robertson or anyone else who emerges as the starter in Week 1.

In 88 games and 68 starts, Lawson has never had an interception — a span of 4,014 snaps which is the longest in the NFL.