New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: 4 suspended stars

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL couldn’t have put together a juicier Week 1 contest to open the 2015 season than the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots against an ascending Pittsburgh Steelers team. But a suspension quadrangle has taken four star players out of the blockbuster matchup.

A reactive league if there ever was one, the NFL has been shooting in the dark in the discipline department for some time, but things have really gone south since the Ray Rice fiasco nearly a year ago.

As of right now, a total of 34 players will be under suspension when the 2015 season kicks off in under two weeks. Some of those suspensions could be reduced or even wiped out (as is the cases of a few players in this slideshow), but if the season started today there would be 34 street-clothed professional football players walking the sidelines.

Read on to find out about the four members of the Patriots and Steelers that are currently receiving lashes with a wet piece of spaghetti from Roger Goodell.

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