The Arizona Cardinals will be without star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins for six games this season while he serves a suspension handed down this offseason. Hopkins was found to have violated the NFL's performance-enhancing drugs policy when he tested positive for a trace amount of Ostarine. Speaking via ArizonaSports.com, Hopkins suggested the NFL's PED policy was too “black and white,” claiming that he still was unsure how the banned substance ended up in his system.

“I’ve never taken any of that kind of stuff,” Hopkins said. “If you know about what it is, it can be in shampoo, it can be in a lot of different things. Obviously, the NFL is very black and white, so of course, I wish the rule wasn’t so black and white. It is what it is.”

Hopkins claims he tested positive for having 0.134% Ostarine in his blood. The league's accepted threshold for a banned substance is less than 0.1%. Despite initially appealing the suspension, Hopkins has backed down and has since dropped his appeal.

The wide receiver also claimed he was trying to pinpoint exactly how the substance ended up in his system, though it appears he was unsuccessful in doing so.

“It’s hard to know what you can eat, what you can do when you’re not in control of manufacturing anything or what goes through a conveyor belt, you know what I’m saying?” Hopkins said. “So, obviously, I do think that rules should change. But like I said, that stuff, it’ll work itself out, and I’ve never taken anything. I barely take vitamins.”

DeAndre Hopkins will miss the first six weeks of the 2022 NFL season while he serves his suspension. He'll be eligible to return in Week 7 when the Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football.