Houston Texans defensive end Denico Autry has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs.

Houston, Texas — Texans defensive end Denico Autry has been suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing drugs, the league announced Monday.

Autry, 34, said in a statement that the violation was because his doctors prescribed him another medication that contained a banned substance. He said he did not intentionally violate league policy but accepted the penalty.

“During my 10-year NFL career, I have never used performance-enhancing drugs,” Autry said in the statement. “During that time, I have been subjected to countless tests, none of which have ever returned a positive result. So I was shocked this offseason when I learned that one of my tests had returned a positive result.”

In March, the Texans signed him to a two-year, $20 million contract with $10 million guaranteed after he recorded a career-best 11.5 sacks last season for the Tennessee Titans. He has 59 sacks in his career. Throughout training camp, he worked with the starting defense at defensive tackle and defensive end.

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Autry claims that after investigating the matter, he “discovered that a pharmacy to which my doctors had submitted a prescription for another medication had intentionally, recklessly or negligently included a prohibited substance.”

“After discovering the source of the positive test, I immediately retained legal counsel in this matter. My attorney provided the NFL with information, including documentation from my doctors, establishing that I had neither requested nor been prescribed any prohibited substances. It was important to me that the NFL know that I had not intentionally or even knowingly ingested a prohibited substance,” he said.

Autry apologized to the Texans organization, my teammates and the fans for any distraction this may have caused. Finally, I want to assure our fans that my commitment to competing to the best of my ability has only grown, and I look forward to getting back on the field.

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