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          NFL Nation

          Jeremy Kerley blames 'ghosts' for positive drug test

          Jeremy Kerley is expected to slide back into the Jets' No. 3 receiver role. Al Bello/Getty Images
          • Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff WriterDec 14, 2017, 12:00 PM
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              Rich Cimini is a staff writer who covers the New York Jets and the NFL at ESPN. Rich has covered the Jets for over 30 years, joining ESPN in 2010. Rich also hosts the Flight Deck podcast. He previously was a beat writer for the New York Daily News and is a graduate of Syracuse University. You can follow him via Twitter @RichCimini.
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          FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Speaking to reporters for the first time since a four-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, New York Jets wide receiver Jeremy Kerley provided a rather unusual answer when asked how the drugs got into his system. Previously, he denied any wrongdoing.

          "I don't know," Kerley told reporters on Wednesday, according to NorthJersey.com. "There's a lot of ghosts around here. Ghost put it in there. You know, the ghost of Christmas past? ... I don't know."

          Well, that's creative.

          The 5-foot-9, 188-pound receiver returned to practice on Wednesday but still hasn't been returned to the 53-man roster. The Jets have a one-week roster exemption.

          When he was suspended Nov. 6, Kerley released a strongly-worded statement, claiming he didn't knowingly take any performance-enhancing drugs. He vowed to "figure out what caused the positive test," saying he'd conduct his own investigation.

          That didn't happen.

          "I didn't have time to investigate it," Kerley said. "It is what it is. We're back now."

          He added, "If I knew exactly what (the substance) was, I probably would have known the consequences behind it, so I probably wouldn't have took it. But it's in the wind now. ... It's in the past. Learn from it and move on."

          Coach Todd Bowles has remained non-committal on Kerley's role. Previously, he was the No. 3 receiver, producing 22 catches, 217 yards and one touchdown in eight games. Since the suspension, the Jets have been using rookie Chad Hansen in that spot. JoJo Natson has handed punt returns, another of Kerley's old jobs. Neither Natson nor Hansen has been productive, so it seems inevitable that Kerley will return to his previous roles.