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BEN VOLIN | SUNDAY FOOTBALL NOTES

What’s the deal with diluted drug test samples?

Reuben Foster and Jabrill Peppers.Photos from AP

The popular excuse used to be second-hand smoke contact. Then it became an Adderall prescription that the players just plum forgot to get cleared with the NFL.

This year, a new trendy excuse has emerged to explain why players failed drug tests at February’s NFL Combine: Dilution due to dehydration.

In the last 10 days, two players announced that the reason they failed their drug tests at the Combine was for a diluted sample — Michigan defensive back Jabrill Peppers and Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster.

According to rule 1.3.3 of the NFL’s policy on substances of abuse, “a ‘dilute specimen’ — a urine specimen that has a specific gravity value less than 1.003 and a creatinine concentration of less than 20 mg/dL — shall be deemed positive.” Both players now enter the NFL in Stage One of the drug program.

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Foster told the NFL Network that he was sick with diarrhea, vomiting and cramps, and had chugged water to flush his system. Peppers’s agents said in a statement that Peppers chugged water before bed because he has a history of cramping, was sick from his flight, and had to overhydrate because he worked out for two position groups, linebackers and defensive backs.

Do the excuses hold water (pun not intended)? What does it mean to be in Stage One? Does it even matter? All 32 teams were informed of the violations well before the draft, and Peppers still went 25th overall to Cleveland and Foster 31st to the 49ers, though it’s unclear how much the failed drug tests affected their draft status.

To start with, Google “how to cheat a drug test,” and the top hits all include the same information — chugging water to dilute a urine sample is arguably the most popular way to hide substances in your system.

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“Laboratories have specific cutoff points where, even if the drug is detected, it will not be marked as a positive result because there is very little in the sample,” states OHS Health & Safety Services, a California-based drug testing company.

“When a test applicant consumes excessive amounts of fluid, the concentration of urine will subsequently become dilute. This can be abused by intentionally overconsuming large amounts of water prior to a drug test. This will lower drug ratios in the urine. Unfortunately for cheaters, this does not guarantee a negative result, and the laboratory will immediately detect the diluted sample.”

Was Peppers’s and Foster’s dilution an accident? We’ll never know for sure, but former Chargers team doctor David Chao has his doubts. A 17-year NFL veteran, Chao notes that the urine is collected first thing in the morning at the Combine, when urine is at its darkest and most concentrated. When people chug water before going to bed, they almost always wake up in the middle of the night to relieve themselves. And most trainers know that to battle dehydration and cramping, sports drinks with electrolytes are much better than water.

“Their explanations aren’t totally consistent,” he said.

The NFL never comments on drug testing or suspensions, so it will never be known why the players were trying to dilute their samples unless the players reveal it themselves. In fact, we will never know for certain if the players even did have diluted samples, because we’re simply taking the players and their agents at their word.

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Dilution can mask all drugs in the human system, but marijuana stays in the body longer than other substances. While cocaine, LSD, and ecstasy can often be flushed out in a day or two, it could take several days or weeks to clear marijuana.

The NFL’s policies require all participants at its Combines — 330 or so players at the Indianapolis Combine, plus several regional Combines — to submit to a preemployment urine test. Additionally, 30 players at the Combine are randomly selected for serum testing for performance-enhancing drugs. But unlike every other drug test in the NFL, the players know when it is coming. It is part of their medical evaluation first thing in the morning on Day 2 of their itinerary.

That’s why the Combine drug test is considered an “intelligence test” by those in the NFL — it’s a way to catch those who can’t even stay off weed or other drugs long enough to pass a test that they know is coming.

A diluted sample technically isn’t failing the test, but it’s a way to cheat the system, and the NFL considers it similar to skipping a drug test. Both will land a player in Stage One of the drug program, as would testing positive for a banned substance. While NFL players provide an “A” and “B” sample to ensure a positive or negative test, the league’s substance abuse policy states that “ ‘B’ bottle testing shall not be afforded to Players who provide a dilute specimen that results in a dilute warning.”

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Players who pass their Combine drug test will still be tested for substances of abuse one more time during their rookie year, likely in the first few weeks of training camp. Players in Stage One such as Peppers and Foster are subject to more frequent tests, but at an undetermined amount, based on the discretion of the league’s medical director. They aren’t fined or suspended and can be removed from Stage One in as few as 90 days, and as many as 180 days, if they pass all subsequent drug tests and don’t exhibit behavior that warrants further evaluation. But if they fail another drug test or exhibit troubling behavior in that window, they are advanced to Stage Two, where the players are tested up to 10 times per month and subject to fines and suspensions.

One other aspect to consider: Since Peppers and Foster aren’t facing automatic suspensions, it means they violated the test for substances of abuse, not PEDs. The NFL has a separate policy for PEDs, and rule 3.3 outlines that “Any effort to substitute, dilute or adulterate a specimen . . . may result in more severe discipline than would have been imposed for a positive test.”

A first-time violation of the PED rule results in an automatic two-game suspension for testing for a diuretic or masking agent, a four-game ban for a stimulant or anabolic agent, and a six-game suspension for diluting a specimen or testing positive for a substance and a masking agent. This wasn’t the case for Peppers or Foster.

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Getting flagged at the Combine probably won’t be a huge deal for either player. They can be in and out of the program within three months and never miss a snap or paycheck. But assuming their excuses are just that, it does make you wonder how much both players rely on substances, considering they knew when the test was coming. And Peppers and Foster now are subject to increased testing and an increased chance of earning a fine or suspension in the future.

DEADLINE APPROACHES

2014 draft class options on table

Chances are good the Patriots will trigger Brandin Cooks’s fifth-year option.Bill Feig/AP/File 2016

This is an important week for first-round picks from the 2014 draft class, as the deadline for teams to exercise the fifth-year option on their contracts is Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Like the franchise tag, the fifth-year option comes with an automatic salary for each player based on his position. Unlike the franchise tag, which is fully guaranteed when it is placed on a player, fifth-year options are guaranteed for injury only for now and don’t become fully guaranteed until the first day of the 2018 league year the following March. So only players that are true busts don’t get their option picked up. Last year, 17 players had their options picked up or received contract extensions, and in 2014 it was 20 players.

On Saturday the Patriots triggered the fifth year option for Brandin Cooks, whom they acquired via trade from the Saints. Considering they gave up a first-round pick for Cooks, the decision was a no-brainer for the Patriots.

As of Saturday afternoon, 16 of the 32 players from 2014 were known to have their options picked up already, either via reports or team announcements. The players: Cooks, Jadeveon Clowney, Khalil Mack, Jake Matthews, Darqueze Dennard, C.J. Mosley, Mike Evans, Taylor Lewan, Odell Beckham, Aaron Donald, Ryan Shazier, Zack Martin, Jason Verrett, Deone Bucannon, Travis Benjamin, and Bradley Roby.

Only three players cannot have their options picked up, because they already have been released by their original teams: Justin Gilmore, Johnny Manziel, and Dominique Easley.

Six more players appear likely to have their options picked up: Anthony Barr, Calvin Prior, Ju’Waun James, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Dee Ford, and Jimmy Ward. We identify four players who likely won’t (Greg Robinson, Kyle Fuller, Sammy Watkins, and Marcus Smith), and three players on the bubble (Blake Bortles, Eric Ebron, and Teddy Bridgewater).

Where a player is drafted also makes a big difference, as players picked in the top 10 receive a much higher salary than those picked 11-32 (based on different formulas that calculate the salaries). Had Cooks been drafted in the top 10, he’d be looking at a salary of $13.258 million in 2018, per former agent and salary cap expert Joel Corry. But since Cooks was picked 20th, his salary instead will be a much more reasonable $8.459 million.

Watch: Ben Volin and Jim McBride break down the Patriots’ draft

AGAINST THE ODDS

Amendola in fifth year with Patriots

Danny Amendola caught 23 of 26 passes thrown his way last season for 234 yards and four TDs.Tim DonnellyAP

Danny Amendola has had a fascinating run with the Patriots, from Wes Welker replacement to free agent bust to reliable and clutch member of Tom Brady’s inner circle. And after reportedly agreeing to another pay cut last week, Amendola will be back for a fifth season, though at a rate far lower than the one he originally signed on for.

When the Patriots’ negotiations with Welker went south in 2013, they turned to Amendola, giving him a five-year, $28.5 million deal that maxed out at $31 million with incentives. The deal paid Amendola $12 million over the first two years (he actually earned $11.9 million), or close to the same contract Welker eventually signed with Denver.

But Amendola struggled to catch on in New England, catching 54 passes for 633 yards and two touchdowns in his first season, and just 27 catches for 200 yards and one TD in his second second. Julian Edelman came out of nowhere to replace Welker’s role and his 100 catches per season, and Amendola seemed expendable.

But Amendola was one of the rare bad contracts given by the Patriots, and it made salary cap sense to give him one more shot in 2015, though at a reduced rate. His original contract called for him to make $4.5 million in 2015, and he agreed to a restructuring that paid him a maximum of $3 million (he ultimately made $2.718 million due to injuries and incentives).

Amendola agreed to another pay cut in 2016, from $5.5 million to a maximum of $1.6 million, which he earned in full. And according to ESPN, Amendola agreed to another pay cut last week, from $6.5 million to $1.4 million-$1.7 million, based on Amendola’s health.

So that five-year, $31 million contract will really be five years and $17.9 million, assuming Amendola plays all 16 games this year ($17.6 million if he doesn’t play any games). He’s had to take significant pay cuts, but playing for the Patriots has given him a platform to become a TMZ-type celebrity with magazine photo shoots and a blossoming off-field career. And he’s now guaranteed a fifth season with the Patriots, which didn’t seem likely just a few years ago.

ETC.

Job security will come into play

Bears quarterback Mike Glennon threw a ceremonial first pitch before a Cubs game against the Pirates in mid-April.Jon Durr/Getty Images

The Bears and Chiefs made big plays for quarterbacks in the first round of the draft. But what of the veterans already on their roster — Alex Smith and Mike Glennon?

Glennon is the more fascinating case, as the Bears just signed him to a three-year, $45 million deal in March. But the structure of the contract screams “one year seat-warmer,” which Glennon and his agent hopefully understood when he signed the deal. He’ll make $16 million guaranteed in 2017, with another $2.5 million in incentives or a guaranteed $2.5 million roster bonus due next March that voids if Glennon achieves his incentives this year. He earns his incentive if the Bears win nine regular-season games and he plays in at least 60 percent of snaps, or if he ranks in the top 10 in passer rating and plays at least 60 percent.

Assuming Glennon doesn’t achieve the incentive, that $2.5 million roster bonus next March is fully guaranteed, but comes with offset language, meaning the Bears would get at least a partial refund if they release Glennon and he signs elsewhere. All told, the Bears owe Glennon $16 million-18.5 million for one year, but nothing past next March, and they can easily hand the reins to Mitch Trubisky in year two.

As for Smith, he is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $75 million contract he signed in 2014. He has two years and $30.3 million left, none of it guaranteed, with $13.3 million this year and $17 million next year. The Chiefs can save $17 million in cash and cap if they release Smith before the 2018 season, so he looks like he also has one year left before giving way to Patrick Mahomes.

Extra points

With the NFL schedule being released nine days ago, it got us thinking about future Patriots road trips. Seven of the Patriots’ road games are already determined via the league’s schedule rotation, and we know three of them every year will be Buffalo, Miami, and the New York Jets. In 2018 the Patriots will travel to Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, and Tennessee. In 2019 they will stay east, playing in D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. And they’ll have a ton of travel in 2020, heading to Kansas City, Seattle, and Los Angeles twice to play the Chargers and Rams . . . The law of supply and demand carried the first round of the NFL Draft. This year’s draft class is much deeper on defensive players, so the teams drafting at the top snagged the few impact offensive players, with eight of the first 12 picks coming on offense. But 15 of the final 20 picks in the first round came on defense . . . A humbling sight: Vince Young, who turns 34 on May 18, participating in the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ minicamp last week. Young, who hasn’t played in an NFL regular-season game since 2011, is one of five quarterbacks battling for the Roughriders’ starting job . . . Factoid of the week: Running back Mike Gillislee was originally drafted with pick 5-164 by the Dolphins in 2013. The Patriots just sent pick 5-163 to the Bills as part of Gillislee’s restricted free agent compensation . . . Factoid of the week II: The Texans are the only NFL team to still employ every first-round pick the team has drafted since 2008.

Air raid

Matt Ryan put together a stellar 2016 season and was rewarded with the league MVP award. The Falcons quarterback became the seventh player to average at least 9.3 yards per attempt while amassing more than 275 passes.

Compiled by Michael Grossi

Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenVolin. Material from interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.