5 NFL superstars who were suspended for doping ft. DeAndre Hopkins
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.
The #AZCardinals lose WR DeAndre Hopkins for the first 6 games of the season after a PED suspension. https://t.co/5FoxpwkEkH
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.