Seattle Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner is facing a one-year suspension from the NFL for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, according to multiple sources.
ESPN reports that Browner has already had his appeal hearing on the matter and he missed the final four games of last season for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs.
Browner attempted to appeal last year's ban, but eventually dropped it and served out the suspension. He missed four regular season games at the end of last season but was available for the playoffs where the team defeated the Washington Redskins 24-14 in the Wild-Card round and then fell to the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional round by a score of 30-28.
It was announced on Sunday that Browner's teammate and cornerback Walter Thurmond III is facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy and is expected to drop the appeal on his suspension in order to serve the ban and be back in time for the playoffs.
Browner is sidelined with a groin injury, but was expected to return to the team in mid-December, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told ESPN.
USA Today reports that Browner's suspension likely signals the end of his time in Seattle as he is set to become a free agent in 2014 and the ban stretches to late next season.
The site also reports that by NFL rules a one-game ban is issued when a player has advanced to the third and final stage of the drug program and a player advances to that stage after multiple prior violations of the policy, which include a positive drug test, a missed drug test or other issues with tests.
The Seahawks are 10-1 thus far this season, and Browner appeared in eight games and notched one interception for 49 yards and had 18 tackles.
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