The knock, Todd Sauerbrun said, came at 8 a.m.
Uh-oh. Those dang-blasted NFL drug testers again.
The day before, Sauerbrun, the Broncos’ punter coming off a fine season, felt he needed some pep for an offseason workout. He took a supplement that contained ephedrine, a stimulant listed as a banned substance not only by the NFL, but just about every athletic and governing body in America since the deaths of Minnesota Vikings tackle Korey Stringer in 2001 and Baltimore pitcher Steve Bechler in 2003.
Sauerbrun said he wasn’t sure if the supplement contained ephedra, but he knew enough to understand that whatever substance he was taking was supposed to clear his system within 36 to 48 hours.
The knock on the door came much earlier.
“I was like, ‘Well, this could be it,”‘ Sauerbrun said. “But I tell you what, I had no idea it was a one-hit and out. I didn’t understand the rules in that way. That’s pretty harsh if you ask me. It’s an unlucky thing.”
Unlucky isn’t how Broncos owner Pat Bowlen described it. Not after learning Sauerbrun, who ranked eighth in the NFL last year with a 43.8-yard average, had lost his appeal and will begin this season serving a four-game, five-week suspension.
“That’s a bonehead mistake, because he is a very important part of our team,” Bowlen said. “Losing him for four games is not a good thing. However, we’ve brought in Micah Knorr, and he’s pretty good and we’ll get through it.”
During Sauerbrun’s suspension, the Broncos play at St. Louis, at home against Kansas City, at New England, have a bye week and then play their fourth game here against Baltimore.
Sauerbrun will participate in training camp and the preseason, but the Broncos probably will give more game kicks to Knorr and Paul Ernster, neither of whom made an NFL punt last year.
While serving his suspension from Sept. 4 through Oct. 9, Sauerbrun will not be allowed at Dove Valley or allowed to work out with the team. And at 33, Sauerbrun may not have his job waiting for him if either Knorr or Ernster proves reliable.
“I told him, I’m very disappointed in him,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “We took a chance on him. All the things to be tested for, ephedra is something you take to lose weight. He’s the only guy on the team I don’t care if he’s fat. I don’t care if he’s 30 pounds overweight – all you have to do is punt the ball.”
Represented by high-profile Denver attorney Harvey Steinberg, Sauerbrun’s past record probably didn’t give him much chance to win his appeal. While punting for Carolina in 2004, he was charged with driving under the influence and later was connected to a convicted South Carolina physician in a steroid scandal.
Fortunately for the Broncos, the NFL decided against suspending any of the Panthers players named in the steroid probe. Otherwise, a second offense would have meant a one-year suspension.
The DUI caused the NFL to place Sauerbrun on its frequent testing program, a platform that perhaps led to the untimely knock a day after he took the suspicious supplement.
“I let these guys down,” Sauerbrun said. “The only thing I can do is come back and be ready to go after that fourth game. I’m really sick about this. It’s not cool.”
