http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5121614Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for six games on Wednesday for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, the NFL announced.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback also was ordered to undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaluation. Commissioner Roger Goodell will evaluate Roethlisberger's progress before the season and might consider reducing the suspension to four games.
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In your six years in the NFL, you have first thrilled and now disappointed a great many people. I urge you to take full advantage of this opportunity to get your life and career back on track.
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-- Roger Goodell, in letter to Ben Roethlisberger
However, a failure to comply with the NFL's ruling might lead to a longer suspension.
Roethlisberger is barred from attending any Steelers offseason activity after Wednesday until he completes the evaluation. He can participate in training camp and preseason games this summer as long as he is cleared by the evaluators and Goodell.
The Steelers have begun contacting teams to see if they would be willing to trade a top 10 pick for Roethlisberger, an NFL source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
At least one team, and possibly more, have fielded a call from the Steelers and debated the trade internally, the source said.
But any team that trades for Roethlisberger wanted to officially hear how long he was suspended and what the conditions of his suspension would be before dealing for the quarterback.
Sitting out all six games would cost Roethlisberger an estimated $2.8 million.
The Steelers were also ordered to remit a portion of Roethlisberger's salary to the NFL for having two players suspended for violations of the league's personal conduct or drug policies. Wide receiver Santonio Holmes was suspended for four games before being traded to the New York Jets this month.
A second player being suspended requires the offending team to pay the NFL 25 percent of the second player's forfeited salary, with the maximum amount being $200,000.
Last month a 20-year-old college student accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her in a Georgia nightclub. Last week, prosecutors decided not to charge Roethlisberger in the case.
"The Personal Conduct Policy makes clear that I may impose discipline 'even where the conduct does not result in conviction of a crime' as, for example, where the conduct 'imposes inherent danger to the safety and well being of another person'," Goodell stated in his letter to Roethlisberger.
"As the District Attorney concluded, the extensive investigatory record shows that you contributed to the irresponsible consumption of alcohol by purchasing (or facilitating the purchase of) alcoholic beverages for underage college students, at least some of whom were likely already intoxicated. There is no question that the excessive consumption of alcohol that evening put the students and yourself at risk. The Personal Conduct Policy also states that discipline is appropriate for conduct that 'undermines or puts at risk the integrity and reputation of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL players.' By any measure, your conduct satisfies that standard."
More excerpts from Goodell's letter to the Steelers quarterback:
• "I recognize that the allegations in Georgia were disputed and that they did not result in criminal charges being filed against you. My decision today is not based on a finding that you violated Georgia law, or on a conclusion that differs from that of the local prosecutor. That said, you are held to a higher standard as an NFL player, and there is nothing about your conduct in Milledgeville that can remotely be described as admirable, responsible, or consistent with either the values of the league or the expectations of our fans."
• "Your conduct raises sufficient concerns that I believe effective intervention now is the best step for your personal and professional welfare."
• "I believe it is essential that you take full advantage of the resources available to you. My ultimate disposition in this matter will be influenced by the extent to which you do so, what you learn as a result, and a demonstrated commitment to making positive change in your life."
• "In your six years in the NFL, you have first thrilled and now disappointed a great many people. I urge you to take full advantage of this opportunity to get your life and career back on track."
Backup Plan
The Steelers are 5-5 in games not started by Ben Roethlisberger since 2004.
Blog: Dixon best option
QB Record
Charlie Batch 3-1
Tommy Maddox 2-3
Dennis Dixon 0-1
On Tuesday, the Steelers traded a seventh-round pick in this week's NFL draft to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for quarterback Byron Leftwich, adding depth to the position in anticipation of a possible Roethlisberger suspension.
Leftwich backed up Roethlisberger in 2008, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. He knows offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' system and could be ready to play Sept. 12 when the Steelers open against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Steelers play three teams that didn't make the playoffs this past season -- the Falcons, Bucs and Tennessee Titans -- plus the division rival Baltimore Ravens in their first four games, a period that could span any Roethlisberger suspension.
Pittsburgh hosts the Cleveland Browns in its fifth game and travels to Miami to face the Dolphins in its sixth game. The Steelers have a bye in Week 5.
Pittsburgh already has third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon and longtime backup Charlie Batch under contract. Batch has been injured each of the past two seasons. Dixon has started only one NFL game but likely would compete with Leftwich in training camp to be the early-season starter if Roethlisberger is suspended.
Walker on Roethlisberger
Do not expect complaints from the Steelers over Ben Roethlisberger's 4-6 game suspension. ESPN.com's James Walker says the season can still be salvaged. Blog
The NFL and the Steelers were angered and embarrassed by the tawdry details of Roethlisberger's night out March 3.
In a statement to police, the 20-year-old college student said Roethlisberger encouraged her, and her friends, to take numerous shots of alcohol. Then one of his bodyguards escorted her into a hallway at the Capital City nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga., sat her on a stool and left. She said Roethlisberger walked down the hallway and exposed himself.
"I told him it wasn't OK, no, we don't need to do this and I proceeded to get up and try to leave," she said. "I went to the first door I saw, which happened to be a bathroom."
According to her statement, Roethlisberger then followed her into the bathroom and shut the door.
"I still said no, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me," she wrote.
Two of her friends said they saw a bodyguard lead her into the hallway and then saw Roethlisberger follow. They said they couldn't see their friend but knew she was drunk and were worried about her.
The statements were among hundreds of pages of the case file made public last week by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
Last week, Steelers president Art Rooney II said the team would have imposed sanctions on Roethlisberger before now, but doing so would have permitted the players union to appeal any penalties. Any suspension imposed by Goodell can be appealed only to him.
Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner and the highest-paid player in franchise history with a $102 million contract, also is being sued in a civil case by a Nevada hotel employee who has accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2008.
Roethlisberger practiced Monday and Tuesday with the Steelers, but he did not talk with reporters.
NFL security was in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, interviewing Roethlisberger's bodyguards, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
A Pennsylvania state trooper can't continue to work as a personal assistant to Ben Roethlisberger because he was there when the Pittsburgh Steelers star was accused of sexual assault in Georgia.
The Pennsylvania State Police said Wednesday that Trooper Ed Joyner's outside work exceeded the scope of what was permitted. They also say "he is alleged to have demeaned the image" of the state police.
Joyner got the OK in 2005 to work as Roethlisberger's assistant. Police regulations require permission for any outside work for which troopers will receive compensation or "consideration."
Milledgeville is a central Georgia college town about 30 miles from where the quarterback owns a lake home.
Chris Mortensen is ESPN's senior NFL analyst. Adam Schefter is ESPN's NFL Insider. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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