NFL's 2010 Season Suspensions

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Sep 3, 2010

NFL's 2010 Season Suspensions

Ben Roethlisberger

With his original six-game suspension reduced to four, Ben Roethlisberger will rejoin the Steelers for their Oct. 17 game against Cleveland. Here's a rundown of some others who have been suspended for three games or more heading into the 2010 season.

Santonio Holmes

Just hours removed from a trade to the Jets on April 12, Santonio Holmes was suspended for this season's first four games. The nature of the suspension and the identity of the substance that triggered it still aren't known. Holmes was arrested in 2008 for possession of marijuana, prompting a one-game suspension with pay from the Steelers.

Vincent Jackson

The Chargers receiver was given a three-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy stemming from his February guilty plea in a DUI case. It was Jackson's second DUI conviction in five years.

Brian Cushing

The defender was suspended for the first four games of 2010 after losing his appeal of a positive test for human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG. It's the same drug Manny Ramirez tested positive for when he was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball in 2009. Cushing, last season's AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, retained his award after a re-vote, but will be ineligible for any postseason honors in 2010/2011.

Shawn Nelson

Buffalo tight end Shawn Nelson, who had 17 catches for 156 yards and a touchdown as a rookie last season, will miss the first four games of 2010 for violating the league's substance abuse policy. The Bills had hoped to make Nelson an integral part of their passing attack.

Gerald McRath

A fourth-round pick from Southern Miss in 2009, Gerald McRath was working throughout the offseason as the Titan's starting outside linebacker before dropping his appeal and accepting a four-game ban for a violation of the PED policy. McRath maintains that the positive test came from a tainted batch of supplements.

Jason Ferguson

Ferguson has been suspended for the first eight games of 2010 for violating the league's performance enhancing substance policy for the second time. Despite coming off a season-ending quadriceps injury that required surgery and the eight-game suspension, the 35-year-old nose tackle has a one-year deal to stay in Miami. Ferguson, who originally tested positive in 1999, says this suspension came from a blood pressure medication he had been taking.

Robert James

The 26-year-old James didn't make much of an impact last season with the Falcons, playing in only one game (no tackles) after missing his rookie year with a concussion. Now the fifth- round pick from Arizona State in 2008 will have to wait until Oct. 10 to try to make his mark at linebacker after being suspended for the first four games for violating the PED policy.

Ryan Tucker

Two days after announcing his retirement on a Cleveland radio station, Tucker was slapped with an eight-game suspension by the NFL. He was also suspended for the Browns' first four games in 2007.

Hollis Thomas

Thomas has been suspended for eight games following a second positive test for a banned substance, and the free agent DT has indicated he will sign with the fledgling UFL. Thomas, 36, played for the Eagles (1996-2005), Saints (2006-08), Rams (2009) and Panthers (2009). Send comments to siwriters@simail.com.

Johnny Jolly

Facing drug charges stemming from his July 2008 arrest outside a Houston nightclub, Packers' defensive tackle Johnny Jolly was handed a year-long suspension from the NFL, the harshest penalty so far this offseason. Reports surfaced in June that Jolly had been involved in the buying, selling and distribution of illegal substances.