Cowboys’ Quinn suspended for PED use
Dallas Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn has been suspended for the first two games of the regular season for violating the NFL’s ban on performance enhancers.
Quinn was acquired in a trade with Miami in the offseason. The league said Thursday the ninth-year player is eligible to practice and play in preseason games, but he is out until the regular season after breaking his left hand in practice at training camp.
The 29-year-old Quinn will be eligible to return in Week 3 at home against the Dolphins.
Quinn’s agent, Sean Kiernan, said in a statement released on Twitter he was “extremely disappointed” in the NFL’s decision to suspend Quinn.
Kiernan said Quinn takes medication to control seizures. The agent said it is believed Quinn’s medication was contaminated with probenecid when a prescription was filled at a pharmacy. Probenecid was used as a masking agent for steroids in the 1980s and ’90s, Kiernan said, but is used now as a prescription drug to treat gout. Kiernan said records showed that a prescription for probenecid was filled before Quinn’s prescription at the pharmacy he uses.
Texans trade for Johnson: Duke Johnson got his wish, and the Browns got more than expected for him.
Cleveland traded the disgruntled running back to the Houston Texans on Thursday for an undisclosed 2020 draft pick. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press that the Browns are getting a fourth-round pick that can become a third-rounder.
One of the NFL’s most versatile backs over the past four seasons, Johnson had grown unhappy with his role and asked to be traded earlier this year after the Browns signed suspended free agent running back Kareem Hunt, who will sit out the season’s first eight games.
Browns general manager John Dorsey had been adamant he wasn’t going to “give away” the 25-year-old Johnson, and he resisted several offers before striking a deal with the Texans.
Houston was looking for a proven backup to play behind starter Lamar Miller. The Texans released D’Onta Foreman earlier this week.
With Johnson gone and Hunt out until November due to an NFL suspension for two violent incidents, second-year back Nick Chubb will get the majority of carries for the Browns.
Raiders’ Jackson hurt in joint practice: The Oakland Raiders are concerned about the status of starting right guard Gabe Jackson after he injured his leg in a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams.
Jackson went down early in the session Thursday when someone rolled into his leg. He was then taken off the field on a cart and owner Mark Davis went into the locker room shortly after that for almost 15 minutes.
Coach Jon Gruden said after practice that he didn’t want to speculate on the extent of the injury. Jackson is a key part of Oakland’s offensive line.