Report: Unrecognizable substance triggered Edelman’s positive PED test

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman claimed in his apology after he tested positive for PEDs last week that "I don't know what happened."

Are the drug testers equally confounded?

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated's MMQB.com reports that Edelman, who is facing a suspension for the first four games of the NFL season, had his positive test "triggered by a substance that wasn't immediately recognizable."

More from Breer's report, which is No. 5 in his Ten Takeaways at the end of his column:

I was told Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that wasn’t immediately recognizable, and there are scientists analyzing it. And as to the timing, the test did happen during the offseason (a couple months ago), which means it’s not for any kind of stimulant. You might remember the rash of players saying they got popped for Adderall—the rules have changed now so that offseason use of stimulants falls under the substances of abuse policy, rather than the PED policy.

Michael David Smith of NBCSports.com's Pro Football Talk reports that testers have been stumped before.

In 2003, four Raiders players tested positive for tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, a substance that wasn’t initially detectable in urine tests. It was only after the lengthy BALCO investigation that drug testers re-tested stored urine samples and detected the substance.