The NFL has announced that Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended for six games and will not be eligible to play until Week Eight, on October 31st. However, according to NFL PR man Greg Aiello, the suspension could be reduced 2-4 games based on Roethlisberger’s cooperation of a mandated “comprehensive behavioral evaluation.”

Analysis: You have to expect Roethlisberger will completely comply with the league’s requests, so our best guess is that the suspension has a chance to be reduced two games, making it a four-game suspension. But as of now, it’s a six-game suspension and, should Roethlisberger fail to meet the league’s requests, the suspension could be more than eight games, according to Aiello. Also, Roethlisberger cannot attend any offseason team activities until he undergoes a behavior evaluation and his return is approved by professionals.

The games he’s slated to miss as of now are:

vs. Atl

@ Ten

vs. TB

vs. Bal

vs. Cle

@ Mia

There’s already a flurry of rumors suggesting the Steelers may trade the troubled QB for a high pick in this week’s draft. If so, their entire offense will need to be downgraded significantly. But for now, let’s assume Roethlisberger will remain a Steeler and will miss only 4-6 games. Pittsburgh this [...]

I’ve never even attempted an NFL Mock draft, since that’s really not what we do, but our own Tom Simons (who’s contributed to our site since 1996), has been posting mock drafts on our MBs for weeks now, so I figured I’d highlight his final mock, which is below.

Let’s see how many picks he gets right!

UPDATED: 4-21-10

The key to this draft will be how teams evaluate individual talent. Teams play head games leading up to the draft in order to produce smoke screens to hide their true intentions. Thus, there are plenty of surprises abound during the draft.

MOCK DRAFT – FIRST ROUND

1. St. Louis: SAM BRADFORD, QB – He did extremely well during his Pro Day and private workout for the Rams. He displayed extreme accuracy, especially with deeper intermediate throws. This remains a no-brainer for the Rams, but no pick is ever 100% a lock. If they have any last-second thoughts, Ndamukong Suh is their next choice.

2. Detroit: NDAMUKONG SUH, DT – If Detroit trades for Albert Haynesworth, who played under head coach Jim Schwartz and beside recently signed DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, then the Lions likely take Russell Okung. If they don’t make a trade, expect them to [...]