Giants LB Ryan Anderson suspended 6 games for PED policy violation
New York Giants linebacker Ryan Anderson was suspended for six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy, the league announced on Saturday.
Anderson can play in the Giants’ final preseason game on Sunday, but will not be eligible to play in the regular season until Week 7.
— New York Giants (@Giants) August 28, 2021
“I was made aware of Ryan’s positive test of a banned substance prior to training camp and have worked with the league and NFLPA thru the process,” his agent, Chad Wiestling, said in a statement, via the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
“Ryan takes full responsibility for his mistake and apologizes to the New York Giants organization and their fan base. To be clear, the positive test was not for a performance enhancing drug. Rather it was for a substance that is included on the NFL banned substance list. Nevertheless, Ryan acknowledges it is his responsibility to understand and control what goes into his body. Ryan will continue to prepare and be ready to play after Week 6.”
Anderson was fighting to make the Giants roster already before the suspension. He signed a one-year, $1.127 million deal with the team over the offseason, but has missed a significant part of his time with the team already on the reserve/non-football injury list due to a back problem.
The 27-year-old spent his first four seasons in the league with the Washington Football Team, which selected him with the No. 49 overall pick in 2017 out of Alabama. He had nine combined tackles in nine games off the bench last season in Washington.
Anderson has recorded six sacks and 86 total tackles in 52 career games, the overwhelming majority of which came during the 2019 season.
If he remains on the Giants’ roster, Anderson will be eligible to return on Oct. 24 for their game against the Carolina Panthers.
