OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn has been suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy.
Quinn will be eligible to return to game action Sept. 22 against the Miami Dolphins, who traded him to the Cowboys in March. On Wednesday, Quinn had surgery to repair a fractured left hand suffered in Tuesday’s practice and the team believed he would be ready to play for the Sept. 8 season opener against the New York Giants.
Quinn’s agent, Sean Kiernan, released a lengthy statement defending his client, saying the failed test was a result of Quinn’s use of a preventative medication for seizures.
“Rob has a medical history with seizures that requires him to take multiple doses of preventative medication daily to regulate them,” Kiernan wrote. “He was tested on April 2nd under the NFL Steroid Policy. He failed the test for a substance called probenecid, which is classified as a masking agent under the policy. He does not take any supplements and took nothing else during this period that would create a positive test for probenecid, in fact, he had no idea what probenecid was or what it was used for.”
Kiernan also took exception to the league’s tactics during the hearing process.
“I’ve been working with NFL Players for 20 years, and I can’t think of a situation where I’ve been personally involved where the league was as tone deaf as it was here,” he wrote. “Now, Rob will be punished for something that would have been impossible for him to prevent, and even though the NFL admitted during the hearing that it did not believe Rob was intentionally doping, they still suspended him. The arbitrator gave us a fair hearing, but the strength at which the league argued against Rob was incredibly disappointing.”
With Quinn out for the first two games, it creates some potential roster issues for the Cowboys when the final cuts are due and opens opportunities for other players, like Taco Charlton, Dorance Armstrong and Kerry Hyder.
Randy Gregory has yet to file for reinstatement from his indefinite suspension, and DeMarcus Lawrence (shoulder) and Tyrone Crawford (hip) have opened training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
The expectation is Lawrence and Crawford will begin practicing when the Cowboys return to Frisco, Texas, after their Aug. 17 preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu.