Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, James Harrison Cleared in PEDs Investigation

The NFL officially cleared Green Bay Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison of any wrongdoing Wednesday after a probe into an Al-Jazeera report that alleged performance-enhancing drug use.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network relayed the press release, which says the league found "no credible evidence" of drug use. 

Tom Pelissero of USA Today reported that free-agent defensive lineman Mike Neal, who was also named in the report, is still under investigation. A source told Bleacher Report's Jason Cole that Neal had a relationship with people at the Guyer Institute, which allegedly provided performance-enhancing drugs. 

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, the most prominent name in the story, was cleared in July. He met with investigators earlier this offseason. 

The NFL's decision comes just days after the three current players met with league officials at their respective teams' facilities. While it had long been expected none of the players would be punished—the Al-Jazeera report has since been widely debunked—the road to resolution has been arduous.

At the center of the controversy was whether the NFL had the power to interview the players. Backed by the NFLPA, the players initially refused to talk and were publicly strident that they would continue that stance. Harrison in particular called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a "crook" and took the league to task for strong-arming him into an interview.

The players eventually relented under the threat of suspension. Goodell's power over the players has been bolstered this summer by decisions upholding the suspensions of Tom Brady and Adrian Peterson. The league subsequently threatened bans under the personal conduct policy, which essentially gives Goodell autonomy.

"They are going to clear my name and give me the same sendoff they gave [retired quarterback] Peyton Manning," Harrison said before the meeting, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "I'm going to be cleared. They are going to give me the same thing, flash, across the bulletin board, NFL, Instagram, Twitter, all that—'James Harrison cleared.'"

Harrison and his teammate DeAngelo Williams reacted to the NFL's decision on social media:

"Obviously, I'm pleased," Harrison's agent, Bill Parise, said, per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Just glad it's over with. I don’t think James was ever really worried about all this—I think it just was a pain in the butt."

NFLPA lawyers were present at the meetings to ensure questioning stuck to the Al-Jazeera report.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.