Big news came down today as the NFL announced that Jets OLB Calvin Pace has been suspended for the first four games of the regular season for taking a banned substance. The official NFL statement reads, 'Calvin Pace of the New York Jets has been suspended without pay for the team’s first four regular-season games of 2009 for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances.
Pace's suspension begins Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Jets’ active roster on Monday, October 5 following the team’s October 4 game against the New Orleans Saints. Pace is eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.'
Here's a statement from Pace, released through the Jets: 'This is a situation that resulted from an over-the-counter dietary supplement that contained a substance that I did not know violated the League’s policy. I am responsible for what I put into my body and I should have paid closer attention to the League’s guidelines. I regret that this has happened and apologize to my teammates, the entire Jets organization as well as the fans. Hopefully, this does not distract from our ultimate goal of winning the Super Bowl.'
The organization's statement merely said, 'We respect the League’s decision and look forward to Calvin’s return for our Monday Night game at Miami.'
What this means is that the Jets will be without one of their starting OLBs for the first four games, so it is an opportunity for second-year player Vernon Gholston, who has been earning raves from new coach Rex Ryan all spring, to make an immediate impact after a disappointing first season in which the sixth overall pick went sackless. Losing Pace for the first month also hurts because he was a fast starter last season, recording 2.5 of his seven sacks in the first four games.
Another possibility to fill Pace's shoes is third-year pro Marques Murrell, who played mostly on special teams last season but was impressive in the spring at linebacker.
The Jets had two players suspended for four games by the league last season for using performance-enhancing substances, running back Jesse Chatman and quarterback Erik Ainge.
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