In the wake of the four-game suspension handed out to his client, Cowboys cornerback Orlando Scandrick, agent Ron Slavin of BTI Sports Advisors issued a statement suggesting that if the proposed agreement related to HGH testing had been instituted by now, it would significantly reduce the number of PED suspensions (Twitter link via Rand Getlin of Yahoo! Sports). A number of drugs that currently fall under the PED umbrella would instead be tested under the substance abuse policy under that proposal, and first-time substance-abuse violations typically result in counselling and treatment rather than immediate suspensions.
Let’s round up a few more items on Scandrick and on some other NFC East clubs and players….
- Scandrick’s positive test came as a result of the recreational drug MDMA being found in his system following a vacation to Mexico, a source tells Ed Werder of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Jay Glazer of FOX Sports adds (via Twitter) that MDMA on its own should be subject to the substance abuse policy, but the drug can sometimes be laced with amphetamines, which likely resulted in the PED classification.
- Jason Fitzgerald of Over the Cap notes that the timing of the suspension was actually somewhat fortuitous for Scandrick, since he restructured his contract with the Cowboys in the offseason to reduce his base salary. By converting a portion of his 2014 salary to a signing bonus, Scandrick will only lose out on about $847K in salary, rather than around $1.55MM.
- With David Wilson forced into retirement and Andre Brown back on the free agent market, a reunion between Brown and the Giants may seem logical, but Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets that the Giants seem comfortable with the running backs on their roster, and don’t appear to have interest in Brown at this point.
- Redskins GM Bruce Allen confirmed today to reporters, including Jason Reid of the Washington Post (Twitter link), that his team only has about $2MM in cap space. Cap-clearing moves will likely be necessary for the club before the start of the regular season, writes Rich Tandler of CSNWashington.com.
- Mike Jones of the Washington Post fields a few Redskins-related questions in his latest mailbag.