Former New Orleans Saints tight end Ben Watson thought his NFL career was finished after the 2018 NFC championship game. It’s why he retired from the game and began settling into life after football and, he said on social media, consumed a banned substance on doctor’s orders: bio-identical testosterone cypionate.
Flash-forward to May, and Watson cut his retirement short to rejoin the New England Patriots, the team that drafted him in 2004. But he failed a drug test and is now facing a four-game suspension to begin the 2019 regular season. It’s something Watson has known of for a while, and which he says he informed the Patriots and other interested teams of before signing a one-year contract with them.
As Watson said in his public statement:
Ultimately I decided to pursue another year and on May 9 the Patriots offered me a contract in spite of these circumstances. I am excited and thankful to return to New England but very disappointed that I will not be able to play and contribute immediately.
It’s a tough break for Watson, whose Saints career ended with a medical emergency (appendicitis) keeping him on the sideline during what would have been his final game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Between that day on the inactive list and this sudden suspension, it’s certainly not the way he hoped this year would go.
