FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The NFL announced Tuesday that it has suspended Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux for one game following his 2009 arrest on marijuana charges.
Babineaux will miss the Falcons' Sept. 12 season opener at Pittsburgh. He also has been fined one week's pay, $260,000 of his $2.2 million salary.
Babineaux pleaded guilty to felony marijuana possession on July 19. The charge was reduced in a Gwinnett County court to three misdemeanor counts. He received a one-year probation.
Police found 1½ ounces of marijuana in Babineaux's car in the December arrest. Babineaux and a friend were driving through suburban Atlanta at the time.
The suspension will leave the Falcons without their most productive defensive tackle. Babineaux led the team with six sacks last season, and he also forced two fumbles.
Babineaux is eligible to participate in training camp and preseason games. Following the suspension, he can return to the Falcons' active roster Sept. 13.
Until then, the Falcons could be left with two young starters at defensive tackle.
The Falcons hope 2009 first-round draft pick Peria Jerry earns a starting job. Jerry missed most of his rookie season with a knee injury, but Falcons coach Mike Smith said Tuesday that the second-year pro is moving closer to gaining full medical clearance. Jerry has been limited through the first week of training camp.
Rookie Corey Peters, a third-round pick from Kentucky, also could take advantage of Babineaux's suspension to start in the opener against the Steelers.
"I don't think that it really does anything for us in terms of how we change our preparation," Smith said of Babineaux's suspension. "We're going to go in prepared no differently than we would in any other year for our season opener."
Thomas Johnson, who started 10 games last season, Trey Lewis and Vance Walker are the other top defensive tackles in Falcons camp.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
