[Kansas City.com] Chiefs offensive lineman John Welbourn was suspended by the NFL for the season’s first four games for violation of the league’s steroid policy.

Welbourn, a reserve guard, played for the Chiefs in Friday night’s preseason loss to the Rams. He won’t be eligible to practice during the suspension and can’t play until the Oct. 16 game against Washington at Arrowhead Stadium.

“I’m not very happy about it,” said Welbourn, who refused to comment further.

Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said: “It hurts him, and it hurts us. It’s a shame. I believe him. He appealed it and didn’t win the appeal. He passed a lie-detector test, but he didn’t win the appeal. He fought it, and he lost. It doesn’t matter if it was taken accidentally or something was in something he took that wasn’t marked on the bottle. It doesn’t matter. There’s no tolerance, and we’ll have to live with that.”