INDIANAPOLIS – Grover Stewart, one of the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive cornerstones, has been suspended for the next six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substances policy.

Stewart immediately accepted responsibility on his Instagram account, but that didn’t lessen the severity of the discipline. The suspension is without pay, so he’ll forfeit six paychecks from his $9.285 million base salary. That’s $3.095 million.

The seventh-year defense tackle also is in the final year of a three-year, $30.75 million extension he signed in November 2020. He’ll be a free agent at the end of the season.

Stewart has started 70 of 102 games since being selected in the fourth round of the 2017 draft, and developed into one of the NFL’s premier tackles.

He’s eligible to return to the active roster on Dec. 4 following the Colts’ week 13 game at Tennessee.

There was no comment from the team.

Stewart addressed the situation via his Instagram account. He indicated he unknowingly ingested a substance on the NFL’s banned list, which is no defense in the eyes of the league.

“I want to apologize to the National Football League, the Colts organization, my teammates, our fans and my family,” Stewart posted. “I was surprised and disappointed to learn I had violated the policy. I respect the integrity of the game and would never purposely put myself or the team in this kind of situation. I am responsible for what I put in my body, and I should have taken the proper steps to educate myself. I will learn from this moving forward, and I will take the appropriate measures to ensure this never happens again.’’

You can follow Mike Chappell on Twitter at @mchappell51.