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If Andre Brown is to contribute for an NFL team this season, it will have to be after midseason.

Brown, a free agent tailback released by Houston in August, has been suspended for the first eight regular season games of 2014, Howard Balzer of The Sports Xchange reported Thursday.

It’s unclear why Brown has drawn the eight-game ban.

The 27-year-old Brown rushed for 492 yards and three touchdowns on 139 carries for the Giants in 2013. The Texans signed him in the offseason.

The earliest Brown could again appear in an NFL game is Thursday, October 30 (Week Nine).

Brown faced a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s PED policy in 2012, but the ban was overturned.

According to Balzer, ex-Vikings linebacker Erin Henderson (four games) and ex-Titans quarterback Dominique Davis (one game) are also currently suspended.