Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn has been suspended for the first two games of the regular season after violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, the league announced Thursday.
Quinn’s agent Sean Kiernan released a statement on Twitter addressing the suspension.
“I am extremely disappointed in the NFL for following through with this suspension,” the statement read, in part. “In life there are real world instances where a totality of the circumstances must be analyzed. This is one such case. Rob has a medical history with seizures that requires him to take multiple doses of preventative medication daily to regulate them.”
Statement re: Robert Quinn pic.twitter.com/EY5D5KJslJ
— Sean Kiernan (@SKiernan78) August 8, 2019
Kiernan added he was shocked by the league’s decision.
“I’ve been working with NFL players for 20 years, and I can’t think of a situation where I’ve been personally involved where the league was as tone deaf as it was here,” Kiernan said in the statement. “Now, Rob will be punished for something that would have been impossible for him to prevent, and even though the NFL admitted during the hearing that it did not believe Rob was intentionally doping, they still suspended him.
“I hope the league office will be more thoughtful and conscious in the future if this ever happens to another player.”
Quinn, 29, was already dealing with a broken hand, which he suffered in practice earlier this week. The injury required surgery, but he was expected to be fully healthy for Week 1.
Quinn is set to enter his first season with the Cowboys after the team acquired him in a trade with the Dolphins in March. He has recorded 69 sacks in 111 career games with the Rams and Miami.
Quinn is eligible to return after Dallas’ Week 2 game against the Redskins on Sept. 15.