Saints Suspend Connell Amid Report of Theft

The New Orleans Saints suspended receiver Albert Connell for the final four games of the season and fined him an additional paycheck Monday “for conduct detrimental to the team.”

The suspension had been expected. Coach Jim Haslett said last week that Connell would not be on the field again this year and Connell had cleaned out his locker.

As he did last week, Saint General Manager Randy Mueller refused to elaborate on what led to the team’s problems with Connell. “The situation with Albert will be handled internally,” Mueller said.

Peter Shaffer, Connell’s agent, also refused to say what caused the suspension.

ESPN reported that Connell was suspended for allegedly stealing money out of the locker of Saint rookie Deuce McAllister. The team is said to have surveillance video to support its allegation.

The report said that Connell denied stealing money from McAllister and that he was only pulling a prank on the rookie running back.

Connell signed a five-year contract in March that included a $2.5-million signing bonus. Of that, $500,000 counted toward this year’s cap. Had the Saints chosen to release Connell, the remaining $2 million would have applied to next year’s cap.

The team reportedly is attempting to get Connell to return $1 million of the signing bonus and have threatened to report the incident to authorities if the player refuses to do so.