Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes have something else in common aside from their touchdown that won the 2009 Super Bowl. Both came off four-game NFL suspensions Monday.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger speaks with reporters at a news conference Monday, the day he returned following a four-game suspension.

Roethlisberger returned to the Pittsburgh Steelers, while Holmes is back with the New York Jets. They are among seven players whose bans ended, including last season’s top defensive rookie, Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans.

“I couldn’t wait to get here,” Roethlisberger said on his first day back with the team he led to titles after the 2005 and 2008 seasons.

Cushing was one of three linebackers suspended for performance-enhancing drugs, along with Gerald McRath of the Tennessee Titans and Robert James of the Atlanta Falcons.

Wide receiver Holmes, traded by Pittsburgh to the Jets in the offseason, Bills tight end Shawn Nelson and Broncos running back LenDale White were sidelined because of substance abuse. White is on injured reserve and out for the season.

Roethlisberger was accused of, but not charged with, sexually assaulting a Georgia college student following a night of drinking in a college bar March 5. Despite not being charged, he was suspended under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

He spent his Sundays watching the Steelers on TV and feeling like, well, a helpless fan.

“I have no fingernails left,” he said. “It was hard, it really was, to watch them at home. I was on the edge of my chair, trying to keep busy. It was tough, but it was fun watching them win.”

The Steelers have started 3-1 and are tied atop the AFC North with Baltimore, which won at Pittsburgh 17-14 on Sunday.

Also at 3-1 are the Texans without Cushing, the Jets minus Holmes, and the Falcons without James.

NFL

Vick has rib cartilage injury

Philadelphia — Michael Vick got a warning from teammate DeSean Jackson right before he was injured.

“I told him: ‘Don’t take no hits like that. We can’t afford you taking hits,”‘ Jackson said. “He’s just trying to make things happen.”

Vick didn’t listen, and he ended up with a rib cartilage injury that may force him to miss at least Philadelphia’s next game at San Francisco.

If Vick can’t play, Kevin Kolb gets another chance to prove he can be the No. 1 quarterback. Kolb began the season as Donovan McNabb’s successor, but lost his job when he sustained a concussion in Week 1 and Vick played exceptionally in his absence.

In other NFL injury news:

• Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith sounded optimistic that quarterback Jay Cutler will be back soon from his concussion, although he would not say just how severe the injury is. Smith said Cutler was back at the practice facility Monday and was “feeling OK” after sitting out the second half of a 17-3 loss the previous night against the New York Giants.

• Buffalo Bills starting cornerback Terrence McGee will miss at least the next two weeks because of a surgical procedure performed last week on his left leg.

• The winless Carolina Panthers are likely without top receiver Steve Smith for at least one game. Smith was limping noticeably Monday and wearing a protective boot because of a high ankle sprain. Smith’s agent, Derrick Fox, said the four-time Pro Bowl pick “most likely” will sit out Sunday’s game against Chicago.

• Green Bay rookie safety Morgan Burnett will miss the rest of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament.

• The San Diego Chargers have placed outside linebacker Jyles Tucker on injured reserve due to a torn pectoral muscle, meaning his season is over.

• Tennessee rookie defensive end Derrick Morgan tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season.

NFL suspends Chargers SS

San Diego — San Diego Chargers strong safety Steve Gregory was suspended by the NFL for four games without pay on Monday for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Titans aide fingered for fine

Nashville, Tenn. — The NFL fined Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil $40,000 Monday for his obscene gesture at game officials.

The league said Cecil violated a rule that prohibits use of abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures to game officials.

NFL reins in Viking’s celebration

Eden Prairie, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has been told by the NFL to rein in his calf-roping act every time he gets a sack.

Allen said Monday that he found out before Minnesota’s last game that his signature celebration is against league rules because he goes to the ground while doing it. He says touching the turf with his knee is considered unsportsmanlike conduct.

Seahawks’ Hill suspended 1 game

Renton, Wash. — Seattle Seahawks linebacker Leroy Hill has been suspended for one game and fined one additional paycheck for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy. Hill was previously suspended for the season opener following his arrest on a marijuana possession charge in Georgia. Earlier this spring, Hill was arrested in suburban Seattle on a domestic-violence charge.

College football

MSU’s Dantonio discharged

East Lansing, Mich. — Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio was released from a hospital Monday after treatment for a blood clot that was discovered less than two weeks after surgery following a mild heart attack.

Dantonio was admitted last Thursday with a blood clot in a leg and missed the Spartans’ 34-24 victory over Wisconsin on Saturday. He has missed two games following the heart attack Sept. 19.

No. 17 Michigan State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) plays at No. 18 Michigan (5-0, 1-0). A school spokesman said shortly after Dantonio’s release that his role this week was still to be determined, but athletic director Mark Hollis posted an upbeat message Monday night on Twitter.

“Coach D is feeling great,” the post said. “If his doctor gives the green light, he will be at the game on Saturday.”

Cycling

Report: Contador doping

The New York Times is reporting that Alberto Contador had eight times the allowable amount of a chemical which indicates doping in his system during this year’s Tour de France, which he won for the third time.

A urine sample taken on July 20 showed a plasticizer — found in intravenous bags like the ones used for endurance-boosting blood transfusions. Contador tested positive for clenbuterol one day later, and was provisionally suspended by the International Cycling Union last week.

Contador has repeatedly denied doping or having a transfusion, instead blaming the clenbuterol on contaminated meat.

NBA

Bulls give Noah extension

Deerfield, Ill. — The Chicago Bulls are keeping Joakim Noah around for a while. When he gets to play with Carlos Boozer, however, will take a little bit longer than expected.

The Bulls confirmed they have signed Noah to a multiyear contract extension. The team did not disclose terms Monday, but a source has told the Associated Press it is a five-year deal. The Chicago Tribune reported it is worth about $11 million annually with incentives that could take it higher.

The news wasn’t so good for Boozer, who broke the fifth metatarsal in his right hand over the weekend. He will have surgery today and is expected to miss about eight weeks.