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Patriots' Alan Branch has 4-game suspension rescinded, so what happened exactly?

Eric Edholm

It’s an unusual event when a player has an NFL-imposed suspension rescinded before his appeal hearing even occurs, but that’s apparently what happened to the New England Patriots’ Alan Branch.

The 10th-year defensive tackle appeared to be set to miss four games for what was reported as a positive drug test. Branch had filed for an appeal, but before that even occurred the NFL reviewed the case and cleared him of any wrongdoing. This is a very rare thing in the NFL.

The New England Patriots have to be thrilled that Alan Branch won't have to serve a suspension now. (AP)
The New England Patriots have to be thrilled that Alan Branch won’t have to serve a suspension now. (AP)

Branch, 31, was told two weeks ago that he had failed a drug test, and according to the Boston Herald, Branch appealed it immediately thereafter because there were traces of marijuana in his system from a previously failed test. Branch already was in the NFL drug program, so he was eligible to be tested as many as 10 times per month per NFL rules. According to the Herald report, there were no new traces of the drug in his system, which led to the NFL’s eventual about face.

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Branch’s agent, Blake Baratz, responded to the developments on Twitter.

The Patriots have to be happy to hear the news. They were getting a bit thin up front and might need to rely on their defense more with tight end Rob Gronkowski perhaps out for the season. Branch is a force inside who often goes overlooked with his minimal statistical production, but he’s an anchor whom head coach Bill Belichick and teammates alike have praised this season. Branch is due to hit free agency in the offseason and should cash in — especially now that his name has been cleared.

This is an unusual situation to say the least. But seeing the NFL admit their mistake with a drug suspension could give hope to other players and agents who likely have taken close note of what happened in this particular case.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!