Marshawn Lynch’s 1-game suspension upheld by NFL on appeal

The NFL issued a one-game suspension to Marshawn Lynch for making contact with an official during the Raiders’ Thursday Night Football win over the Chiefs in Week 7. Lynch appealed, and on Tuesday, the league decided that Lynch’s suspension has been upheld, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.

Appeals officer James Thrash, who was jointly assigned to Lynch’s appeal by the NFL and NFLPA, issued the decision.

What happened? There was a scuffle on the field on Thursday night when three Chiefs players landed on Raiders quarterback Derek Carr well after a play had ended. Lynch left the sideline to enter the fray, and he went straight for Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Peters, like Lynch, is an Oakland native and the two are longtime friends.

An official pulled at Lynch as he attempted to break up the fight. Lynch shoved him.

“You made deliberate physical contact with one of our game officials as he was diffusing an active confrontation between players,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan said, via a letter to Lynch announcing the suspension. “You were disqualified for your in appropriate and unsportsmanlike actions. Your conduct included pushing the game official and grabbing his jersey.

“You were not directly involved in the active confrontation that the game official was attempting to diffuse, nor were you a participant in the play that initiated the confrontation. You were the only player from either team who ran from the sideline to midfield to insert himself into a situation in which he was not directly involved.”

Peters spoke on Lynch’s behalf at his appeal hearing.

What does this mean for the Raiders? They’ll be without Lynch for this week’s game against the Buffalo Bills. Lynch has been getting the bulk of the carries, but the run game is less of a factor for Oakland.

Lynch’s backup, Jalen Richard, will step in. DeAndre Washington is also likely to get some carries. Lynch is averaging just 38 yards per game and has two touchdowns on the season. The Raiders should be fine without him for one week.

What does this mean for Lynch? It’s going to hit Lynch right in the wallet. He’ll lose a game check, which is probably right around $80,000. He’ll also forfeit an active per-game bonus of $31,250 that the Raiders worked into his contract.