New York Jets linebacker Calvin Pace suspended by NFL for four games

(AP Photo)

New York Jets outside linebacker Calvin Pace has been suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the 2009 season for violating the league's performance-enhancing substance policy.

According to the Jets' official web site, Pace, who has apparently exhausted all of his appeals, released the following statement through the team.

“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.”

His suspension will include their week 2 matchup against the New England Patriots.

Pace was arguably the Jets’ best defensive player last season, leading the team with seven sacks and five forced fumbles.

This could mean playing time for Vernon Gholston, who has been a monumental bust to this point in his career.

ProFootballTalk.com made this point in a post earlier today:

Calvin Pace's suspension should open up playing time for last year's first-round pick, no matter how discouraging his summer has been.

The Jets aren't deep at outside linebacker, so Gholston will seemingly have to be a factor.

The only real option to keep Gholston off the field would be to move versatile import Bart Scott to the outside.

In that scenario, the Jets could play undrafted rookie Jamaal Westerman on the inside with David Harris. Westerman has been tearing up OTA practices, and the Jets faithful would love to cheer on an underdog Rutgers product.

The loss of their best defensive player is definitely a blow to the Jets’ playoff chances (since they had no real chance to get to the Super Bowl, the blow won’t impact that at all). It’s reminiscent of the Patriots’ loss of Rodney Harrison in 2007.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Jets can handle the loss of Pace as well as the Patriots handled the loss of Harrison.

In the meantime, Pace is still allowed to participate in training camp and the entire preseason. The suspension officially begins the week leading up to the first game of the season.

For more on the New York Jets, check out our two New York Jets Examiners: Angel Navedo & Tyson Rauch.

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Questions? Comments? Insults? You can email them to Sean Crowe at scrowe@gmail.com.

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