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The NFL world was rocked in April 2022 when news broke that Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins would be suspended for the first six games of the 2022 NFL season after violating the league’s performance-enhancing drugs policy.
Hopkins was coming off a down-year in Arizona. Injuries limited him to just 10 games with 572 yards and eight touchdowns.
However, Hopkins isn’t the only superstar player to be caught out taking PEDs. Many of the NFL’s greats have been caught over the years. Here are five examples.
NFL players suspended for doping
#1 - Patrick Peterson
Former Cardinal Patrick Peterson was hit with a suspension by the NFL in 2019 when the league announced he would miss the first six games of the season for violating the performance-enhancing drugs policy. Peterson appealed the suspension, but his plea was upheld, and he sat out for the start of the campaign. This snapped his streak of eight consecutive Pro Bowls, as players who receive PED suspensions are ineligible for the Pro Bowl.
Peterson has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league since being drafted in 2011. He has been named First-team All-Pro three times and was voted to eight Pro Bowls and the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
#2 - Josh Gordon
Wide receiver Josh Gordon has had a long history of suspensions by the NFL. The troubled superstar simply couldn’t stay out of the headlines.
In 2013 he missed two games for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. In just 14 games, he posted 1,646 yards and nine touchdowns. He was also suspended indefinitely for similar reasons in 2014 and 2015, though the 2014 suspension was changed to 10 games.
Gordon has been suspended on three more occasions for violating the substance abuse policy. At 31 years old, he may have wasted his prime years due to the suspensions.
He has spent time with the Cleveland Browns, the New England Patriots, and the Seattle Seahawks and now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he had just 32 receiving yards in 2021.
NFL players suspended for doping
#3 - Brian Cushing
Linebacker Brian Cushing was a hard-hitting player during his career. He spent nine seasons with the Houston Texans from 2009 to 2017.
Cushing was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, just months after he was named the 2009 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. The award was revoted, but Cushing held on to the accolade.
He would have a solid career in the pros. He became the Houston Texans' franchise leader in tackles but was suspended again in September 2017 for 10 games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. He played five games for the Texans that year before retiring in February 2018.
#4 - Bill Romanowski
Linebacker Bill Romanowski spent 16 years in the NFL from 1988 to 2003, playing for the San Francisco 49ers, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Denver Broncos, and the Oakland Raiders. The 2003 BALCO scandal rocked the NFL, as numerous players were found using steroids, including many Raiders players, with Romanowski being one of them.
He said afterward:
“I took human growth hormone for a brief period and ... I definitely didn't receive what I got out of THG."
While in Oakland, he got into an altercation with tight end Marcus Williams in practice. Romanowski's punch crushed Williams’ eye socket, causing his retirement. Williams sued Romanowski for $3.4m in damages, claiming he had ‘Roid rage.’ Williams eventually won $340,000 for lost wages and medical bills.
#5 - DeAndre Hopkins
DeAndre Hopkins became one of the latest players to be suspended by the NFL for violating their performance-enhancing drugs policy in May 2022. The ban relates to tests collected in November, with Hopkins’ agent saying tests from the previous month and the following month came back negative.
Hopkins said after the suspension:
"I was confused and shocked. I am very mindful of what I put in my body and have always taken a holistic approach, so I am working with my team to investigate how this could've happened.
He has been one of the best receivers in the league for the last 10 years, having put up 10,581 yards and 68 receiving touchdowns for both the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals.
Upon return after his six-game ban, he will be hoping to help the Cardinals and quarterback Kyler Murray improve from their 2021 season, where they were eliminated in the NFC Wildcard Round by the Los Angeles Rams.
