NFL Upholds Marshawn Lynch's One Game Suspension
ALAMEDA, Calif. (CBS SF/AP) — The NFL announced Tuesday it had rejected Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch's appeal of a one-game suspension handed down for running onto the field and bumping an official during an altercation in Oakland's win last week over the Kansas City Chiefs.
He will not play in Sunday's game against the Buffalo Bills.
Lynch was suspended for a game without pay. The ban will cost him more than $100,000 in salary and per game roster bonuses.
He will not be allowed to be with the Raiders until Oct. 30, clearing the way for second-year backs Jalen Richard and DeAndre Washington to carry the load for the Raiders (3-4) against the Bills (4-2).
"We're going to miss him but it's the next-man-up mentality," Richard said. "It's the NFL. We can't whine about it because if that's the case we'll go out this week and end up losing because we're not being focused. Me and D-Wash are confident in ourselves and the offense and our teammates have confidence in us so we'll do everything we can to impact the game against Buffalo."
The incident started when Oakland quarterback Derek Carr was hit late on a run by Kansas City's Marcus Peters midway through the second quarter. Several of the Raiders offensive linemen, including Kelechi Osemele and Donald Penn, immediately confronted Peters, and Lynch sprinted onto the field from the bench to join the fray.
Line judge Julian Mapp tried to break up the fight, but Lynch pushed him and grabbed his jersey. Lynch was ejected and got a personal foul.
"I was disappointed we had a player leave the bench, something we talk about," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "Don't leave the bench area."
While several players have only been fined for making contact with an official, Lynch also left the sideline to join the fray, making his infraction worthy of a suspension, according to NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan.
Lynch and Peters are both Oakland natives and are so close they consider each other family. Some of Lynch's teammates said he came out on the field as a peacemaker looking to separate Peters from the Oakland players.
Lynch came out of retirement this season and was traded from Seattle to the Raiders. Lynch said he wanted to make a comeback so he could give something back to his hometown of Oakland before the Raiders move to Las Vegas in 2020.
After a promising start, Lynch hasn't provided much production for Oakland. He had just two carries for 9 yards before his ejection and has rushed for 266 yards on 72 carries (3.7 yards per carry) with two touchdowns so far this season.
After gaining 121 yards the first two weeks, he is averaging just 29 yards per game the past five weeks.
