Pat Y gave a decent answer to your question this morning in his mailbag:

Kevin in Kelowna, B.C., Canada: Pat, great blog. I love the frequency with which you post new articles and all interesting stuff. I’m confused about the StarCaps issue. How come it seems that the two Williams’ from the Vikings are being treated differently than the Saint’s guys? Is there some evidence or some state law differences that make their case different? Thanks.

Pat Yasinskas: Yeah, here’s the deal. A federal judge last week threw out most of the claims by the five players involved. But, at the same time, that judge also sent a couple of issues involving Kevin Williams and Pat Williams back to a Minnesota State court. So the two Vikings players remain in limbo. Barring some sort of successful appeal, it looks as if New Orleans’ Charles Grant and Will Smith will be suspended for the first four games of this season. Same deal for Deuce McAllister — if he signs with anyone.

The Williams’ delayed suspension is a result of Minnesota state law. The league, for whatever reason, has decided to temporarily hold off on their suspensions while a Minnesota judge looks at the case again. Profootballtalk.com says they will most likely be suspended week one of the regular season after being allowed to participate in all offseason activities.They are by no means out of the woods yet. It remains to be seen if Will, Charles, and Deuce will get similar delayed suspensions as a result. I doubt they will as their case isn’t affected by Minnesota law. Louisiana doesn’t have the same law applying here.

What I wonder is if Will and Chuck will be able to attend all Saints offseason activities. I expect it will all become more clear in the coming weeks.

It sounds like the Associated Press screwed up in their earlier report. NFL.com reports:

A Minnesota judge said Tuesday that he’ll move quickly but carefully as he takes up a lawsuit by Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams, who are fighting their NFL-mandated four-game suspensions for their use of a banned substance.

As the fight moved from federal court to state court, Hennepin County District Judge Gary Larson asked for and received assurances from NFL attorneys Joseph Schmitt and Dan Nash that the league will not take immediate action against the Williamses ahead of the season. One of the complicated legal issues that Larson needs to decide is whether any temporary restraining order against the suspensions remains in place.

“I’ll move expeditiously. … But I’m also going to do it in a very deliberate fashion,” Larson said.

After The Associated Press earlier reported that the league wouldn’t try to enforce the suspensions, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello clarified the situation, saying the league indeed intends to impose the bans against the Williamses at the start of the regular season. As is standard procedure, Aiello said, suspensions that take effect during the regular season don’t prevent players from participating in preseason activities, including training camp and games.

The league will not enforce the suspensions of any of the players until the regular season. They will all be able to attend all offseason activites.