The Seattle Seahawks Have Had An Exceptional Number Of Substance Abuse Suspensions Since 2011
Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesSeattle Seahawks defensive back Brandon Browner is reportedly facing a one-year suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy.
The news comes a day after another Seahawks cornerback, Walter Thurmond, was suspended four games for the same violation.
Browner was suspended last year, so he'll potentially face a stiffer penalty as a repeat offender. If his appeal is denied, he'll be out until Week 13 of next year's season.
It's the team's seventh substance abuse suspension since 2011 - which has cast a dark cloud over a team that has won 18 of its last 21 regular season games, and is currently one of the favorites for the Super Bowl.
Here are the Seahawks players suspended for substance abuse violations since 2011:
- John Moffitt (2011)
- Allen Barbe (2012)
- Winston Guy (2012)
- Brandon Browner (2012)
- Richard Sherman (2012)* - later overturned
- Bruce Irvin (2013)
- Walter Thurmond (2013)
- Brandon Browner (2013)
That's more suspensions than any other NFL team during that period.
Browner, Thurmond, and Sherman are the core of the Seattle secondary that has become the backbone of the franchise.
Because of NFL privacy rules, the exact substance that the players test positive for cannot be made public. Many of these Seahawks players have said it was Adderall, but there's no way to verify that.