Brian Cushing (born January 24, 1987 in Park Ridge, New Jersey) is a professional American football outside linebacker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Cushing was selected in the 1st round (15th overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Texans. He played college football at the University of Southern California.
he 2009 Defensive Rookie of the Year will miss the first four games of the upcoming season and be eligible to return during the week of Oct. 4. The Texans play Indianapolis, Washington, Dallas and Oakland during his suspension.

Cushing can participate in preseason practices and games.

“We were disappointed to learn that Brian has been suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season,” Houston general manager Rick Smith said in a statement. “Brian is a productive member of our team and this is a significant loss, but we have to be prepared to win without him.”

Cushing, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Southern California, had 133 tackles in 2009. The Texans finished 9-7 last season for their first winning record thanks in part to the improvement of a young defense that features Cushing, star middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans and 2006 top overall pick Mario Williams.

Veteran Kevin Bentley, who appeared in each game for Houston last season but never started, is Cushing’s backup at outside linebacker.

Cushing was hounded by rumors of performance-enhancing drug use before he became a pro, but the Texans were undeterred. They said then they found no truth to those rumors in their draft preparations.

“I’ve passed every drug test out there and still have,” Cushing said during his 2009 draft press conference. “I’m not that kind of guy.”

Cushing had been promoting an appearance on the NFL Network show Total Access Live scheduled for Friday evening on his Facebook page before posting the following message Friday afternoon: “Had to cancel NFL Network and all other interviews due to a family emergency. Heading to airport to fly back to NJ to be with the fam.”

The two-time All-Pro defensive tackle remains unhappy with the Redskins' switch to a 3-4 defense and would prefer to be traded. He has also irked Shanahan by working with his own trainer and staying away from all of the team's voluntary offseason conditioning sessions.

Haynesworth, who has been paid $32 million of the $41 million guaranteed in the contract he signed with the team last year, stayed away from the first minicamp last month in hopes the team would trade him, possibly for draft picks.

• The owner of the Tennessee Titans has joined with the NFL and the NFL Players Association in giving $400,000 to the American Red Cross and a Tennessee group to help the state recover from floods that killed at least 31 people in three states.

Owner Bud Adams decided to donate $200,000 from his Titans Foundation and encouraged the league and the players union to match his gift.




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