McBean will have plenty of time now to work on his federal lawsuit. (US Presswire)

In March, the NFL suspended two Broncos six games apiece for violating the league’s substance abuse policy, and one of the players ensnared was defensive end Ryan McBean , who led the defensive line with four sacks last season.

In response, McBean and teammate D.J. Williams filed federal lawsuits, because they claimed their samples were tampered with by the collector before the positive results were revealed.

Looks like McBean now will have plenty of time to prepare for his suit, because according to the Denver Post, the team has notified him that it intends to release him. CBS4 sportscaster Vic Lombardi confirmed Monday morning that the Broncos, in fact, have released McBean.

As our friend Andy Benoit, writing for the NY Times last week wrote, McBean is coming off a career year but “he is more of a nickel presence than an everydown grinder.” Also, the fact the Broncos re-signed Justin Bannan last week didn’t help McBean’s chances of staying put in Denver.

When his suspension was announced, the NFLPA released a statement of disappointment. Not for McBean and Williams, but for the way the league handled the drug test.

"The NFLPA is disappointed by the decisions in the cases of Ryan McBean and D.J. Williams. Despite substantial evidence of breaches in the collection protocol and other procedural irregularities, the NFL decided to punish these players without judicious review of the facts. The League-appointed hearing officer then affirmed the discipline, even though the specimen collector was fired by his agency for not following procedures. The NFL also failed to produce the sample collector as a witness during the players' appeals hearing.

"The NFLPA and NFL have been negotiating a new and comprehensive Substances of Abuse and Steroids policies. The facts in these two cases, and in recent cases in other sports, dramatically underscore the players' insistence to have independent, neutral arbitrators as part of any future policy. We will continue to fight for a fair, clean and safe game."

There has been no date set for the court case. McBean also was arrested in 2011 on a stalking charge.

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