Well, this is interesting — and unexpected.
NFL appeals hearing officer Ted Cotrell heard the case of Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and rescinded the one-game suspension that was handed down after stepping on Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in Sunday's regular-season finale.
That means Suh will get to play in the Lions' playoff game at the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Cottrell reduced Suh's punishment to a $70,000 fine. According to NFL Network, Suh personally appeared at his appeal hearing, which perhaps helped his case.
Suh appeared to step on Rodgers' leg twice — once after being pushed back by a Packers lineman, then a second time in the same area that Rodgers had re-injured his calf earlier in the game, leaving for two series prior to that.
The league initially stated in the suspension ruling that Suh "unnecessarily stepped on [the] opponent's unprotected leg as he lay on the ground unable to protect himself."
Cottrell clearly disagreed with that. Suh's fine for this incident is less than the $100,000 he was docked in Week 1 last season for an illegal low block following a turnover against Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan.
In fact, as NFL Network's Judy Batista pointed out via Twitter, Suh had gone without an on-field safety incident past the 32-game mark (counting preseason contests) since the 2013 incident against the Vikings, which is significant. Under the new NFL rules on such fines, a player is considered to have a "clean slate" on such matters if he has gone at least 32 games without any incidents, so Suh in essence was treated like a first-time offender for all intents and purposes.
This is a huge win for Suh and the Lions because these types of punishment are not often overturned. The Lions now will have their best defensive player to help stop the Cowboys' explosive offense.
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