Titans' Johnson suspended 6 games for PED test over fertility meds

Tennessee Titans defensive back Nazeeh Johnson has been suspended six games by the NFL for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. The league announced the suspension on August 14, 2026, and Johnson confirmed it would begin on August 30, making him eligible for reinstatement on October 19. In a public statement, Johnson explained that the violation resulted from a fertility medication he took without knowing it contained a banned substance, a situation compounded by a recent personal tragedy.

Johnson disclosed in a post on the social media platform X that he began the medication after he and his wife discovered he was infertile while they were trying to conceive a child. "I was not aware that there was a substance in the medication that was on the banned list, and I tested positive for a PED," he wrote. The NFL's rules require players to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption before using any prohibited substance, even for medical treatment, and a positive test is treated as a violation.

The football consequences are significant for Johnson in his first season with a new team. The six-game suspension is without pay, with financial tracking indicating he...