Cardinals’ Ferrell Tests Positive, Retires

Phoenix Cardinal fullback Earl Ferrell, the team’s leading rusher the past two seasons, voluntarily retired Wednesday after being informed by the NFL that he had tested positive for drugs and must miss the 1990 season.

Ferrell, 32, told reporters at a news conference that he received a letter from NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue last Thursday.

“In the off-season, I tested positive and I had a meeting with the commissioner,” Ferrell said. “I was given a chance to retire, and that’s what I’m going to do. If I stay clean for a year, I have a chance to come back. I’m going to retire for a year and hopefully get straightened out and hopefully play football again.”

The 6-foot, 240-pound Ferrell, who has 2,946 yards in his eight-year career, has never been suspended by the NFL for drugs although he reportedly tested positive at least three times.

He reportedly underwent drug rehabilitation in St. Louis after the 1985 season. In 1988, he reportedly tested positive for cocaine use three times but was not penalized by the league because the traces were small and he already was under counseling.

Ferrell rushed for a career-high 924 yards and seven touchdowns in 202 carries in 1988. Last year, he had 502 yards and six touchdowns in 149 carries.