Jonathan Vilma Said He Plans To Play Against Bucs

Jonathan Vilma will soon be on the field again for the New Orleans Saints.

The linebacker, who was embroiled in the scandal of the team’s bounty scandal, has said that he will come off the physically unable to perform list after a long recovery from a knee injury, ESPN.com reported.

Jonathan Vilma now says he intends to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 7, which could come as a boost to the Saints’ shaky defense. Vilma’s impact on the team is pronounced, with opponents completing fewer passes (56.3 percent versus 60.0 percent) and gaining fewer yards per play (5.7 versus 6.0) when he is on the field, ESPN.com noted.

“I’ll be allowed to practice, I’ll be allowed to play versus Tampa Bay (Sunday),” Vilma said, according to WVUE-TV in New Orleans.

As he prepares to return to the field, Jonathan Vilma’s lawyers have filed a 29-page motion in Louisiana court to vacate his season-long suspension. In papers filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans on Monday, lawyers claim that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell engaged in a “farcical review” of the previous suspension before reinstating it last week, NFL.com reported.

“Goodell’s manifest bias and partiality is palpable, reflected in his many judgmental, accusatory and unsupported public accusations against Vilma and manifested in a procedure he has invoked which rips at the heart of any notion of fundamental fairness and due process in order to punish Vilma for acts he did not commit,” the motion reads.

Jonathan Vilma has been on the PUP list since Week 2, but has dealt with knee injuries dating back to last season. In that time he has had numerous procedures, including traveling to Germany to receive platelet-rich plasma therapy.