Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving will miss the first four games of the season for the second consecutive year after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy, the NFL confirmed.
Cowboys team writer Nick Eatman and other media outlets broke the news on Twitter Friday afternoon.
Irving will be eligible to return to game action on Oct. 7, when the Cowboys take on the Houston Texans. He can take part in all team activities before the start of the season.
Irving was suspended for the first four games of the 2017 season for performance-enhancing drugs.
It’s odd timing for Irving to be hit with a suspension, just one day after telling 105.3 The Fan’s Mike Fisher that his off-field woes were “behind him.”
“By the time the season starts I won’t be dealing with any of this BS,” he told Fisher.
Irving’s offseason to that point had not been free of drama. His ex-girlfriend apparently hacked his Twitter account in April to make allegations of domestic violence against him. One tweet claimed Irving was going to jail.
She later retracted the allegations against Irving, but Frisco police confirmed they were investigating. There has been no word on the case in the nearly two months since.