Akeem Spence faces one-game suspension for 2014 marijuana arrest

Akeem Spence is facing a one-game suspension for a January 2014 marijuana arrest, first reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive tackle saw his charges dismissed after a pre-trial diversion program, but will still have to miss one game after he returns from injury under the league's substance abuse policy. Generally speaking, first offenses against the substance abuse policy cause players to be placed on a testing program, not facing a suspension, so this probably wasn't be Spence's first substance abuse incident.

That's not Spence's biggest concern, though: he's set to miss "several months" with a back injury and may actually have to fear for his spot on the team. The Bucs recently signed nose tackle Tony McDaniel and have a pretty full group with Gerald McCoy, Henry Melton and Clinton McDonald already on the roster. Add in Da'Quan Bowers and William Gholston, who both looked decent at defensive tackle on Saturday, and it's not clear that even a healthy, not-suspended Spence would make the roster.

For now,  he doesn't have to worry about that. He'll be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list to start the season, which means he won't count against the roster, guaranteeing him a place on the team -- at least until he's healthy. At that point, the Bucs will evaluate whether his presence is really needed.