Since the league finally implemented HGH testing, they’ve caught a grand total of zero players.
But a new test could help the league catch someone, since doctors still believe there are guys coming into the system who use the drug.
Dr. John Lombardo, the independent administrator for the league’s PED policy believes that clean record of negative tests can’t go on forever.
“I think the difficulty with the HGH test is the sensitivity of the test and the window that you can detect it,” Lomardo told Gil Brandt and Alex Marvez on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “The test we have now is a very short window. There is another test that is being developed now that has a much longer window – it could be five to eight days. You get that test and it’s going to be a different situation. The short window is a tough one to deal with. And it’s the same in every sport.
“I’m sure at some point in time somebody will test positive if they’re using it.”
Getting an HGH deal took forever, long after the NFL and the NFLPA actually agreed to do it. Testing finally began last October. And so far, it’s either working, they’re unlucky or the test they’re using isn’t good enough to catch the players who are.
About 40 players league-wide are tested each week during the regular season.
Lombardo talked to players coming into the league at this week’s rookie symposium, and said he thinks education of the issue at the college level is likely lowering the numbers of players using, but that “I don’t think the problem ever goes away.”
If he gets the new test he’s looking for, that could change.