"I think that's the final diagnosis we came up with," he said, "and a lot of doctors have supported why this has happened."

Texans owner Bob McNair met with commissioner Roger Goodell in New York to plead his case. The league denied Cushing's appeal of the suspension in February.

"I did meet with Bob at his request," Goodell said Monday during a previously scheduled conference call with Texans season ticket holders. "I'm trying to get all the facts correct, so we make sure we are making the right decision."

Goodell said he's open-minded about reconsidering Cushing's case.

"As you know in the medical profession, there are rarely absolutes and there are varying opinions," he said. "We want to make sure we listen to all the experts and understand all the facts."

Cushing was suspended for the first four games this season after testing positive last year for HCG, a drug on the league's banned substance list. Cushing says he never took the drug, which can be used to restart testosterone production after a steroid cycle, and has no idea how it got into his body.

Cushing said months of tests show that he had a "unique" medical condition that led to the positive test.

"Every individual is genetically different," he said. "I had a unique situation where something like this occurred and we have the science to back it up. It's taken months. It's really beyond what we ever thought and it's beyond the regular medical doctor.

"We've gone in depth, and there has been a lot of money spent on the research," he said. "There have been a lot of interesting results that I think can help us."

Cushing said he could not offer details about what scientific evidence McNair was presenting. Tom Condon, Cushing's agent, did not answer e-mail and phone messages.

Cushing, Houston's first-round draft pick in 2009, had 133 tackles for the team last season to win The Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award. He retained the award after a revote following his suspension.