Overview
- The NFL announced on Wednesday that Sam Franklin Jr. was suspended one game without pay for spitting at an opponent during the Bills’ Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.
- Franklin denies the allegation and has filed an appeal under the collective bargaining agreement, which sends disciplinary cases to one of four neutral officers jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA.
- The punishment follows an earlier one-game suspension this week for Bills starter C.J. Gardner-Johnson for a separate spitting incident in the same game, making this a two-player disciplinary issue for Buffalo.
- Because the Bills have a bye, both suspensions begin Oct. 26 and would keep the players out of the Nov. 1 home game versus Baltimore, forcing short-term changes to the safety rotation and special-teams units.
- Reporting differs on how clear the video is of Franklin’s action, and the league cited Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1 on unsportsmanlike conduct when issuing the discipline, a penalty that carries immediate roster and pay consequences for players.