Philadelphia Eagles LT Lane Johnson blasts NFLPA on PED policy

Philadelphia Eagles left tackle Lane Johnson criticized the NFL Players Association on Saturday as he faces a likely 10-game suspension for violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

According to multiple reports, Johnson has tested positive for PEDs for the second time in his career. He also tested positive in 2014 and was suspended for four games.

"Every substance I've taken has been approved by the Aegis Shield app, which the NFLPA gives us (to check substances)," Johnson said Saturday. "That's the only thing the NFLPA gives us to test our products.

"I feel like the players have no rights. The supplement industry is not regulated, so you do not know what's in it. That's hard to believe, coming from a second-time offender, but I want that to be clear -- that the NFLPA does not stand up for players.

"They don't check the supplements. They give us an app. Then if you call and ask them if you test positive for something they approve, it doesn't matter."

George Atallah, the NFLPA's assistant director for external affairs, told ESPN.com in an email that Johnson "is mistaken. NFLPA does not approve supplements. While the app may have listed it with a green check, players are reminded within the app, at team meetings and as part of the policy that a) supplements may contain stuff not on the label and b) there is still strict liability for putting it in your body if it contains something not on the label."

The 26-year-old Johnson, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, said it should take "two or three weeks" for his B sample to be tested. If the same banned substance -- a peptide, which is a combination of amino acids -- turns up in the B sample, Johnson is subject to a 10-game ban, according to ESPN.

"It doesn't matter," Johnson said. "I'm still going to get suspended. NFL players use the Aegis Shield app, which the NFLPA gives us, but they do not test the products. If you test positive, that's your own fault.

"The first time, I was at fault. There is no worse feeling than to have to go through this again. This is something I desperately wanted to avoid. It's nothing I ever want to be a part of again.

"It's been a nightmare. I've known this for a couple weeks now. That's been the hardest thing. The last thing I want to be labeled as is a cheater."

Johnson said the first positive test resulted from a prescribed medication he had taken without checking it with the Eagles' medical staff.

Johnson signed a $56-million contract extension in the offseason. The guarantees in Johnson's deal, which total nearly $36 million, would be voided if the 10-game suspension is enforced, according to ESPN.

If Johnson is suspended, his likely replacement would be journeyman Dennis Kelly, a 2012 fifth-round pick with 15 career starts, including nine at right tackle.