Denver Broncos punter Todd Sauerbrun will be suspended for the first month of the season after testing positive for the banned supplement ephedra, a source close to the player told the Associated Press on Friday.

Sauerbrun would miss Denver's first four regular-season games if his expected appeal is denied, according to the source.

Sauerbrun, a 12-year NFL veteran, avoided reporters Friday after a practice at the Broncos' minicamp in Denver.

Coach Mike Shanahan said he wouldn't address the reported suspension until the appeals process played out, but suggested he would find a replacement punter on Denver's roster rather than sign a free agent.

"We've got some competition," Shanahan said. "Like I said, we're just going to wait and see. After we find out what the situation is, then I'll address it."

If suspended, Sauerbrun will be able to attend training camp, which begins July 28, and could play in the pre-season. But he wouldn't be allowed around the team during his suspension, which would cost him $328,000 US of his $1.395 million US salary next season.

Sauerbrun, who is heading into his second season with the Broncos after coming over from the Carolina Panthers, averaged 43.8 yards per punt last year and won a special teams player of the week award.

"He's been very accepted," Denver linebacker Keith Burns said. "I think this is going to hurt a lot of the veteran guys because I think he was becoming a guy who was well-liked in the locker room."

The NFL banned ephedra, a dietary supplement, after the death of Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer during training camp in 2001. Players are subject to testing for the drug and can be suspended after the first violation.

"I'm just pretty paranoid myself to take anything, even eat my dinner," Denver kicker Jason Elam said. "You know, I understand what the NFL's trying to do, they're trying to make the playing field equal all the way around. I understand. It's just unfortunate when it happens to one of your teammates, to one of your friends."

Name has surfaced

Sauerbrun's name came up in a steroid scandal last year in South Carolina, where Dr. James Shortt faces a July 17 sentencing in federal court after admitting he conspired to illegally prescribe steroids to NFL players. Federal prosecutors have not identified any of the eight players named, but say they have audiotaped conversations between Shortt and Sauerbrun and other Panthers players.

By the time reports linked him to Shortt, Carolina was looking to trade Sauerbrun after a series of on- and off-field incidents, including a drunken driving arrest and fines for being overweight.

A second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1995, Sauerbrun was traded to Kansas City and then to Carolina. From 2001-03, he became the only player since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970 to lead his conference in punting average for three consecutive seasons.

With files from Associated Press