INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis Colts nose tackle Grover Stewart, one of the NFL’s top run-stoppers, was suspended six games without pay on Tuesday for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Stewart, 29, playing in his seventh season with Indianapolis, will be eligible to return to the Colts’ active roster on Dec. 4, the Indianapolis Star reported.
The Georgia native, who was a fourth-round draft pick out of Albany State in 2017, released a statement on social media, according to the newspaper. He took responsibility and added that he unknowingly took the illegal substance.
“I want to apologize to the National Football League, the Colts organization, my teammates, our fans, and my family,” Stewart wrote in an Instagram Story. “I was surprised and disappointed to learn I had violated the policy. I respect the integrity of the game and would never purposefully put myself or the team in this kind of situation.”
Statement from Colts DT Grover Stewart: pic.twitter.com/AyyUA9Hl4E
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) October 17, 2023
According to the NFL’s policy on PEDs, a six-game suspension is levied when a player tests positive for an anabolic agent for the first time, the Star reported.
Stewart is in the final year of a three-year, $30.75 million extension, ESPN reported. His suspension will cost him approximately $3.4 million in salary and bonuses, according to the cable sports news outlet.
He will be a free agent at the end of the 2023 season, WXIN-TV reported.
Stewart has been a durable performer with the Colts, playing in 84 consecutive games, ESPN reported. He has not missed a game since 2018.
He is coming off a 2022 season where he recorded 70 tackles and registered four sacks, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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