NFL suspends Holmes for four games

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Santonio Holmes was walking his dog at home Sunday night when he received an unexpected phone call.

It was the Pittsburgh Steelers, telling their talented but troubled wide receiver he had been traded to the New York Jets for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.

“I was very shocked at first,” Holmes said Monday. “But, I knew it definitely opened up a lot more doors and a better opportunity for me to start over.”

Holmes won’t make his Jets regular-season debut until Week 5 of the regular season after the NFL suspended him earlier in the day without pay for the first four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

“We understood that was part of it, but we just felt like even with that, it was worth it,” Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum said. “Obviously, a guy with his production and at 26 years old, he would not have been available if these indiscretions didn’t happen, and obviously the suspension. But, with that said, we just felt like the risk and the price was reasonable for us.”

Unafraid lately to add players with checkered pasts, Tannenbaum said he, coach Rex Ryan and owner Woody Johnson had “a robust debate and robust discussions” before deciding to acquire Holmes.

“We’re not going into this with our eyes closed,” Tannenbaum said.

Holmes, the 2009 Super Bowl MVP, is eligible to participate in the team’s offseason program and in all preseason practices and games. He would be suspended for an entire season if he violates the league’s policy again.

“To go back down the same road, make the same mistakes, won’t be accepted,” Holmes said.

Holmes is coming off his best season, with 79 catches for 1,248 yards and five touchdowns. But he is also facing a lawsuit in Florida from a woman who claims he threw a glass at her, cutting her above the eye, in an Orlando nightclub. A witness has since taken responsibility, according to Holmes’ lawyer.