Seattle Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner will start his four-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drugs policy this week and will miss the rest of the regular season, the NFL confirmed on Wednesday.
Browner was suspended two weeks ago with fellow cornerback Richard Sherman, but did not attempt to appeal the decision. The two players reportedly tested positive for Adderall. Sherman will have his appeal heard on Dec. 14.
According to the Seattle Times, "A player is considered responsible for anything in his body, which means the only way to fight a positive test is to argue that the test results themselves were flawed or that the substance was not actually banned (i.e. the player was permitted to use it)."
The cornerback cannot be with the team or at the Seahawks facility until his suspension is completed. He was missing from practice on Wednesday afternoon and will likely be replaced in the lineup by Walter Thurmond, who has made 12 tackles and one forced fumble this season.
"I've thought all along that we are very fortunate to have Walter with some background that has started for us in the past," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said, according to ESPN.com. "He's an excellent athlete. He played very well for us this last week and he'll step right up into that mode."
Browner will miss the last four games of the regular season, including home matchups against the Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams, along with a road game against the Buffalo Bills that will be played in Toronto.
Before coming to the NFL, Browner played in the Canadian Football League and was named an All-Pro in 2008 and 2009. He won the Grey Cup with the Calgary Stampeders in 2008 and was an All-Star for three straight years.
Browner currently holds the Seahawks franchise record for the longest interception return for touchdown after taking one back 94 yards last season in a road win against the New York Giants.
Sherman's decision to appeal may have playoff implications for the Seahawks. According to ESPN.com, if the suspension is upheld, "league sources believe Sherman would miss the final two games of the regular season and the first two games of the playoffs, if the Seahawks make the postseason and advance that far.
"I'm still not commenting about it, but I'm disappointed when we lose anybody by injury or whatever. These guys work so hard to be here and all of that and you come to rely on guys and when you lose guys it's always disappointing," Carroll said. "But really where the focus goes for us is right to the guys who are stepping up. ... It's like he got injured is really what it amounts to and on we go."
Sherman and Browner have combined to make one of the strongest cornerback tandems in the NFL this season. According to Yahoo Sports, " Through 12 games this season, Browner had three interceptions and six passes defensed while playing in 98.9 percent of the team's defensive snaps."
The Seahawks will turn to Marcus Trufant if Sherman is suspended.
Browner made the Pro Bowl last season after making six interceptions and recording 23 passes defended. This year he has made 44 tackles, three interceptions with six passes defended, while Sherman has made 48 tackles, four interceptions and three forced fumbles.
The Seahawks are 7-5 this season after winning 23-17 in overtime against the Chicago Bears on Sunday. The team is right in the hunt for an NFC playoff spot and has won three of the last four games after losing two in a row.
According to ESPN.com, Browner "is the fourth Seahawks player to be suspended for a PED violation in the past calendar year, joining John Moffitt, Allen Barbre and Winston Guy."
There have also been numerous suspensions this year for Adderall around the NFL.
Apart from Sherman and Browner, New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib, Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Joe Hawley, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive back Eric Wright, Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden as well as New York Giants defensive backs Tyler Sash and Will Hill were all suspended four-games for violating the policy due to Adderall.
Giants running back Andre Brown was also suspended this spring, but appealed his suspension and had it overturned.