(Reuters) - Chicago Bears veteran defensive lineman Jeremiah Ratliff has been suspended for the first three games of the regular season for violating the National Football League’s substance abuse policy, the league said on Monday.
The suspension stems from Ratliff's pleading guilty in May to a 2013 drunken driving charge.
Ratliff, 33, will not be eligible to return to regular season practices until Monday, Sept. 28 after the team's third game of the year, which is against the Seattle Seahawks.
Ratliff pleaded guilty to drunken driving after crashing his pick-up truck into an 18-wheeler during the early morning hours of Jan.