Jets' Nathan Shepherd Facing 6-Game Suspension for Violating PED Policy

New York Jets defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd is in the midst of a six-game suspension for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy on two occasions, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com.

Shepherd owned up to the mistake:

"All that was going on, I was coming off of a subpar season and a new coaching staff, new playbook, new everything. In my mindset, I didn't feel very confident with how everything had gone thus far. In my mind, I was so prepared to come into this offseason and have a successful offseason and train very hard. I felt that because of these limitations, I wasn't going to be able to do that. I made a rash decision, an unwise decision and a selfish decision to look to certain PEDs in order to help me with that recovery process so I would be ready to go."

The positive tests came as Shepherd was recovering from injuries to his shoulder and groin. He'd eventually have surgery for a sports hernia and also suffered a herniated L4-L5 disc in his back during that recovery process. 

Shepherd told Pelissero that his usage of the banned substances was to aid in his recovery, not for performance-enhancing purposes. 

"The only competitive advantage I was really looking for was being able to come to camp healthy and having an opportunity to compete.

"I'm grateful to the league for showing some understanding, leniency and fairness, and I appreciate them dealing with it in a timely manner. I'm grateful to Jets GM Joe Douglas, the personnel staff and Coach [Adam] Gase, Gregg Williams, Blake Williams and Andre Carter and the Jets' training staff for their support and their transparency in supporting me through this and, despite this happening, granting me the opportunity to come in every day and earn my spot on the 53-man roster."

If he were to test positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug again, he'd be facing a minimum two-year ban for his third offense. 

Shepherd, 25, appeared in all 16 games for the Jets last season (five starts), registering 15 tackles. It wasn't the first impression Shepherd was hoping to make in his NFL career, and he told Randy Lange of NewYorkJets.com in February that he wanted to take a big step in his second season.

"I would definitely say that I'm not satisfied," he said. "I have made some good progressions throughout the season, just watching all the tape and stuff like that. But it was definitely not enough for me. I'm nothing more than motivated going into the offseason."

His various offseason injuries slowed his offseason development, however, leaving him as a depth piece for the Jets on their defensive line behind players like Leonard Williams, Henry Anderson, Steve McLendon and Quinnen Williams.