Benjamin Watson Shares Some Succinct Thoughts On The Idea Of Increasing Penalties For PED Suspension In NFL
BOSTON (CBS) -- Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio is spending a bit of time this week focusing on PED punishments in the NFL. Starting with a post lamenting the lack of "tough questions" thrown at Julian Edelman on the receiver's media tour this week, Florio threw out a couple of poll questions on Wednesday morning to gauge the audience's feelings toward NFL players getting busted for using PEDs.
The first question was straightforward: "Do you care if an NFL player, whether it's Julian Edelman or Patrick Peterson or anyone else, is caught using PEDs?"
(As of this writing, "No" has garnered 57 percent of the votes.)
The second question was, "Do you see a difference between using a PED to get better and using a PED to recover from injury?"
(62 percent of voters selected yes.)
Question No. 3 had to do with the punishment: "Should players who violate the PED policy be suspended four games AND banned from postseason play?"
As of this writing, 60 percent of respondents voted "No." One of those appears to have been the veteran tight end for the New England Patriots.
Benjamin Watson, who will be suspended for the first four games of the 2019 season, responded to Florio's tweet with a very relatable Michael Scott meme.
Watson, 38, announced in late May that he had taken "Bio Identical Testosterone Cypionate" when he was retired from the game. He was drug-tested at the time by the NFL, and so when it came time to sign with the Patriots, he informed the team that he'd be dealing with a four-game suspension.
Both parties seemed OK with that arrangement. But Watson made it quite clear on Wednesday that he'd be slightly less enthralled with being forced to miss the postseason.