Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson will play one more game with a 10-game suspension hanging over his head.
Johnson will play Sunday against the Steelers, Jeff McLane of Philly.com reports. He then has his appeal hearing during Week Four, when the Eagles are on their bye.
The B sample from Johnson’s previous positive PED test confirmed what Johnson had already acknowledged: He took a substance that is considered a banned performance enhancer by the NFL. Johnson, however, insists that the substance was included in a supplement he took and was not on the list of ingredients.
So his appeal will be based on his insistence that he took the banned substance unknowingly. The NFL generally tells players they’re responsible for whatever is in their bodies, so that appeal wouldn’t seem likely to succeed. But the league has made exceptions, as in the case of Texans offensive tackle Duane Brown, whose suspension was overturned when he provided evidence that he had eaten beef that came from a cow that was given a hormone that is on the NFL’s banned list.
If the NFL will give a break to a player who accidentally ate tainted beef, will it also give a break to a player who accidentally took a tainted supplement? If so, Johnson is in the clear. If not, he’ll be suspended for 10 games, likely starting in Week Five.