LB Michael Boley, who is recovering from hip surgery that will likely keep him out of most of training camp, was suspended without pay by the NFL for the team’s first regular-season game of 2009 for violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy.
Boley’s suspension begins on Saturday, September 5. He is eligible to return to the Giants’ active roster on Monday, September 14 following the team’s September 13 game against the Washington Redskins.
Should Boley's recovery from the hip surgery enable him to get back on the field faster, he'd be eligible to participate in the team's preseason practices and games. However, he had the surgery on June 24 and the prognosis for his return is 8-10 weeks, so that doesn't appear likely.
*** 1:40 PM UPDATE**Apparently the suspension is related to Boley's arrest in May 2008 on a domestic dispute. Also, for those wondering, if Boley is deemed physically unfit to play in the season opener, he will still need to serve the suspension just as soon as he's eligible to play again.
This is only my opinion, but since he's probably going to miss all of training camp as he recovers from his hip surgery on June 24, my guess is he wouldn't have been ready to go on opening day anyway.
*** 2:10 PM UPDATE/CORRECTION** I apologize, but I was incorrect when I said that it didn't matter if Boley was physically ready to go in the first game. because if he was injured, he still would have been paid for the game. Since the suspension is WITHOUT pay, that means he will not be allowed to be at the team's facilities during the week of his suspension. What will probably happen is similar to last year, when Plaxico Burress was suspended. Burress was put on the Reserve-Suspended list and the Giants filled his roster spot. Once he was eligible to return to action, another set of transactions were made to reinstate Burress to the active roster.
