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The NFL has suspended Packers defensive lineman Mike Neal for the first four games of the 2012 regular season for violating the policy on performance-enhancing substances.

The suspension has been announced by the NFL and confirmed by the team. There is no word on which performance-enhancing substance, specifically, Neal tested positive for.

Neal will be eligible to take part in all offseason activities, training camp and the preseason and then will have to be away from the team throughout the first four weeks of the regular season before he’s allowed to return for Week Five.

The 24-year-old Neal has been a disappointment since the Packers selected him out of Purdue in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft. Neal has played in just nine games, starting none of them, and has been credited with just four total tackles. The Packers may be close to the point where they simply decide that Neal isn’t worth it — not good for a player they drafted 56th overall just 23 months ago.