A federal judge on Friday blocked - at least temporarily - the suspensions handed down to five NFL players for violating the league's anti-doping policy.

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson said he needed more time to rule on the case involving Pat Williams and Kevin Williams of the Minnesota Vikings and Deuce McAllister, Charles Grant and Will Smith of the New Orleans Saints.

The National Football League Players Association filed a lawsuit Thursday in response to penalties handed down by the league earlier this week

"The issues in this case are complex and contentious, and the parties have raised questions that deserve careful consideration," Magnuson wrote in his ruling. "Moreover, due process requires that the Court fully and fairly review all of the submissions and the legal arguments of the parties. That consideration is not possible in the two days that remain before the players at issue are next scheduled to take the field. Thus, due process mandates the entry of an injunction preserving the status quo to allow for the Court's review of the issues."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail to PA SportsTicker on Friday that the league is confident Magnuson will uphold the suspensions once he has time to fully review all aspects of the case.

"We welcome that scrutiny," Aiello said. "We are confident that, once he has had an opportunity to review all of the relevant materials, including the Collective Bargaining Agreement, he will uphold our longstanding agreements with the NFLPA that protect the health and safety of NFL players and the integrity of our game."

Magnuson heard arguments from attorneys for the players' union and the NFL in a three-hour hearing before rendering his decision shortly after a recess Friday.

The players were suspended Tuesday after testing positive for Bumetanide, a banned diuretic that can mask the presence of other substances, including steroids.

However, the NFLPA said in its lawsuit that league officials were aware that a supplement called StarCaps contained the banned substance but failed to share that information with players.

"We challenged the suspensions in this case because we did not believe the league acted properly when it withheld important information from the players about Star Caps," NFLPA acting executive director Richard Berthelsen said in a statement following Magnuson's ruling. "The league doctors under the program tested Star Caps, knew they contained a prohibited substance, but deliberately failed to inform the NFLPA or the players of that fact."