Big Blue's Brown bagged first four games of 2012

Big Blue's Brown bagged first four games of 2012

Ron Antonelli/New York Daily News

New York Giants practice squad member Andre Brown (c.) will begin suspension in Week 1.

Andre Brown got a ring. Now hes got a suspension to go with it.

Brown, the Giants fourth-string running back who may be best known for his I Got a Ring song he performed at the Giants championship parade, has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season for violating the NFLs policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Neither the Giants nor the NFL would reveal what substance Brown tested positive for, or when he was caught. Neither Brown nor his agent could immediately be reached for comment.

Brown is the second Giants player to be suspended for PEDs in the last six months, joining defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy who was suspended for four games last October.

Brown, 25, is a former fourth-round pick (2009), who returned to the Giants last summer and spend the season on their practice squad. After the Giants won Super Bowl XLVI, he was video-taped singing his I Got A Ring song on the charter flight home, and later performed it after the Giants ticker tape parade in New York City.

He had a chance this coming season to become something more than a sideshow, though, especially afte r veteran running back Brandon Jacobs left for San Francisco. Brown had a shot to compete for playing time behind starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw with D.J. Ware and DaRel Scott.

The Giants always had high hopes for Brown, but he ruptured his Achilles as a rookie in 2009 and spent that season on injured reserve. He was cut after training camp in 2010 and ended up bouncing around to four different teams that season the Panthers, Colts, Broncos and Redskins.

The Giants brought him back in August and it was clear he didnt have the same explosion and speed he did before he was injured, but the Giants kept him around anyway. If they choose to keep him, he is eligible to participate in the offseason workout program, spring practices, training camp and preseason games.

His suspension will begin with Week 1 of the NFL season.

If Brown makes the Giants final 53-man roster out of training camp which wasnt a certainty before and obviously isnt now -- he'll lose $ 109,411.76 in pay during his suspension. His salary for 2012 is scheduled to be $ 465,000.