Julian Edelman is scheduled to appeal his four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use on Monday, and part of his argument will be that there were mistakes made in the way his test results were handled.
ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports that Edelman’s camp is planning to present a “vigorous defense” that argues the NFL mishandled the case for two reasons. The first issue the New England Patriots receiver will present is that the substance he tested positive for was one not even recognized by testers, which was previously reported by Albert Breer of The MMQB.
Edelman will also present evidence that the NFL mishandled the delivery and documentation of his test results. Graziano reports that it was discovered during the course of the investigation that the league mishandled evidence, and the 32-year-old will cite that as a reason he should be exonerated.
If Edelman’s appeal is denied, he could still pursue avenues to drag the case out in federal court similar to the way Tom Brady handled his Deflategate suspension. Of course, Brady ended up serving the four-game ban in the end.
Judging by the apology he issued after his four-game suspension was announced, it seems as though Edelman is committed to pleading ignorance. That typically isn’t a strong enough defense when testing positive in the NFL, but perhaps he will be an exception.
