ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills stand to open the season minus two new free-agent defensive line additions upon learning Larry Ogunjobi and Canadian Michael Hoecht both face six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drugs policy, general manager Brandon Beane announced on Friday.
Beane said he's verified the details of the suspensions and positive tests with the NFL.
He said the team was aware of Hoecht’s positive test before agreeing to sign the hybrid defensive lineman/linebacker to a three-year, $24 million contract on Monday. Hoecht, from Oakville, Ont., spent his first four NFL seasons playing with the Los Angeles Rams.
As for Ogunjobi, who signed a one-year contract with $8 million guaranteed, Beane said the player revealed he had just received notice of testing positive upon arriving at the team’s facility to sign the deal that the two sides agreed to on Tuesday. The 34-year-old has no history of testing positive and, last season, was the Pittsburgh Steelers nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
“It was a situation where I really don’t know what it was," Ogunjobi said, adding that he has an “obligation to know what” he puts in his body and takes "full responsibility.”
Beane credited Ogunjobi for being upfront even before the player’s B sample has been tested, while adding it’s not ideal to have two players facing season-opening suspensions.
Beane said the Bills would have passed on targeting the eighth-year player in free agency had they known of the positive test. He does, however, intend to honor the agreement in part because the market for defensive tackles is already drying up, and Ogunjobi will be eligible to play after Week 7.
Beane said it’s unclear the reason behind the player’s positive test. Ogunjobi spent his first four NFL seasons with Cleveland, another with Cincinnati and the past three in Pittsburgh.
Ogunjobi said the Bills handled the situation “masterfully.”
“I can’t express my gratitude,” he said.
Hoecht also took responsibility in revealing he tested positive for testosterone, which he said was supplied to him by his long-time trainer.
“I’m ultimately mad at nobody but myself. I got complacent. I trusted someone I shouldn’t have trusted,” Hoecht said. “It was a mistake. It was careless. And it’s ultimately my responsibility.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
John Wawrow, The Associated Press
