Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner will begin serving his four-game suspension immediately and will miss the remainder of 2012.
Browner, who violated the leagues performance-enhancing drug policy, will be out for the final four games of the regular season. He will be eligible to rejoin the Seahawks, who are currently in position to be the sixth and final NFC playoff team, at the start of the postseason.
The announcement that Browners suspension starts now comes as something of a surprise, as Browner was expected to continue appealing the four-game ban, which he says is for taking the prescription drug Adderall.
Seattles other starting cornerback, Richard Sherman, is also facing a four-game ban for what he says was taking Adderall. Theres been no official word from the NFL or the Seahawks about the status of Shermans appeal, although he is expected to play this week and have an appeal hearing next week.
The Seahawks also announced that they signed cornerback Ron Parker off the Panthers practice squad and promoted cornerback DeShawn Shead from their own practice squad to the 53-man roster. Walter Thurmond is expected to start at left cornerback while Browner is out.