Will Hill Suspended For Using Adderall

 

New York Giants safety Will Hill was one of the bright spots in camp, a once highly touted high school prospect who essentially walked onto the Giants roster in training camp.  Now, it appears Hill, who has become a fairly significant piece in the Giants secondary after injuries decimated the group, will miss the next four games because he violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy.

Hill tested positive for Adderall, the same substance that Tyler Sash was suspended for which caused him to miss the first four games of the year.  Running back Andre Brown was also suspended for using the substance but won his appeal, something neither Sash nor Hill were able to do.

With Hill ineligible until November 5th, after the Giants take on the Pittsburgh Steelers and in time to play the Cincinnati Bengals on November 11^th.  To take Hill’s spot, the Giants activated Tyler Sash from the suspended list and he will likely see significant playing time in his first game back.

Hill has said he received the Adderall prescription from a doctor before signing with the Giants and didn’t know about the substance being on the NFL’s banned list until reading it on a sheet of paper in Director of Player Development Charles Way’s office.

Hill has played in all five games this year and has seven tackles and forced a fumble on a kickoff return against the Cleveland Browns in the 41-27 Giants win.  He has also seen time as the Giants’ third cornerback after injuries to Jayron Hosley and Michael Coe forced Tom Coughlin and Perry Fewell to get creative.

Losing Hill, who was starting to make an impact, will hurt but the Giants should start to see Hosley and Coe begin to get healthy and adding Sash should help as well.  Right now, Stevie Brown is filling in for the injured Kenny Phillips who is out with a knee injury.

Adderall is used to commonly treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder but is considered an amphetamine by the NFL.

The logic behind the NFL’s decision to repeal Brown’s suspension and not Sash’s and Hills is a bit strange as all three had been prescribed the medication by doctors.