Nesbit sour about hits to wallet, reputation

It's safe to say that Saints guard Jamar Nesbit is watching with great interest the ongoing StarCaps case against teammates Will Smith and Charles Grant. The NFL suspended Nesbit for four games last season after he tested positive for using a diuretic that contained a banned substance, bumetanide, the same substance Smith, Grant, former Saints running back Deuce McAllister and Vikings defensive tackles Pat Williams and Kevin Williams are accused of using by the league. The five players are appealing their four-game suspensions. Meanwhile, Nesbit must live with his. "Before all this, you could Google my name and everything came up squeaky clean," said Nesbit during minicamp at the team's training facility in Metairie. "Now you Google my name and it comes up, 'Jamar Nesbit, StarCaps this and StarCaps that.' "My two sons aren't old enough to Google yet, but one day they will be and they'll see that. And it's unfair, because I know I didn't do anything wrong. It hurts." Nesbit lost more than his good name by using the over-the-counter diuretic, which he acknowledges using to lose weight, but not to mask steroids. He lost nearly $500,000 in wages and signing bonuses and his starting job to teammate Carl Nicks. Nesbit is suing the manufacturer in an attempt to recoup lost wages and compensation for damage to his reputation, claiming bumetanide was not listed as an ingredient in the pill. No court date has been assigned. "I wish my teammates luck in fighting their suspensions," said Nesbit, who did not appeal his suspension to league officials. "I hope their situations turn out differently than mine. But the NFL has their position, and they're going to stick to it. Do I agree with it, or do I think that it is one that actually has the players' best interests at heart? No." Nesbit did not appeal his suspension and sat out Games 4 through 7. "Under NFL rules, you are strictly liable for what is in your body. They don't care how it got there, contaminated supplements or otherwise," said Nesbit's attorney, Brian Molloy, who has represented other players in past appeals of NFL suspensions for banned substances. "So he did not appeal his suspension and focused his attention on going after the manufacturer of StarCaps." "From what I understand," Nesbit said, "the guys are going to do the same thing I did and sue the manufacturer." Nesbit started at left guard for the first three games of the 2008 season. Nicks moved into the lineup in Nesbit's absence and has remained the starter ever since. "Does it still hurt? Yes," Nesbit said. "What makes it easier for me is I know I didn't do anything wrong, so I can sleep at night. But life isn't fair, and this is a business. So at the same time, that's also what makes it hard." MORGAN OFFICIALLY RETIRED: Saints officials have placed linebacker Dan Morgan on the NFL's reserve/retired list and signed free agent offensive lineman Anthony Davis, 6 feet 4, 322 pounds. Davis, 29, participated in the team's recent minicamp on a tryout basis. He is entering his sixth NFL season. He was originally signed by Tampa Bay in 2003 as an undrafted free agent from Virginia Tech. He spent four-plus seasons with the Buccaneers, starting at left tackle in 2005 and 2006. He spent part of last season with the Rams. Morgan made his retirement official with the league office Wednesday, filing the necessary paperwork through his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. "I just wanted to make sure Dan announced his retirement (with the league) so he didn't count against the roster," Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "I didn't want that spot to be in limbo." The roster stands at 84. BROOKS A POSSIBILITY? Speaking of the roster, don't dismiss the possibility of Saints officials pursuing free agent outside linebacker Derrick Brooks as a situational player in the coming weeks. Brooks, an 11-time Pro Bowler with Tampa Bay, is expected to bide his time and sign with a team in time to go to training camp. "Right now, there is nothing, but we're very much aware of his situation," Payton said Wednesday. "We clearly know the player. He is going to be a guy that is going to sign with a team in the next month. I just don't know where. Is it potentially the New Orleans Saints ? I'll say this: He's a guy who has perked the interest of a lot of people, not just ourselves." Brooks is on the downside of his career at age 36. But he might consider signing with a team inside the NFC South for the opportunity of playing twice against the Buccaneers, whose first-year coach, Raheem Morris, decided the time had come to cut ties with the franchise's most prolific tackler. Brooks, 6 feet, 235 pounds, ended his career at Tampa Bay with 208 consecutive starts, the longest active streak in the NFL. DEUCE SPEAKS OUT: Unlike the two Vikings linemen in the StarCaps case, who allege that the NFL has improperly tested them at least three times per month, in excess of what the testing policies allow under the NFL collective bargaining agreement, McAllister said he didn't feel singled out for extra testing while he appealed his four-game suspension. "I maybe was tested -- quote 'on a random basis' unquote -- maybe six or seven times last season; sometimes after games, sometimes when I came to the facility and found a note in my cubicle telling me to do so," McAllister said. "But nah, I didn't feel that way, but I understand their feelings and comments."