Meriweather appeal reduces benching to 1 game

The NFL announced that the suspension of Brandon Meriweather was reduced from two games to one.

This appears to have been a deliberate effort by the league to ensure Meriweather sits for at least one game. It would be unlikely, not to mention very unpopular, to reduce a two-game suspension to zero with a six-figure fine. Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson had his single-game suspension transmogrified into a $100,000 fine.

NFL statement

Ted Cottrell, the hearing officer in the appeal of Brandon Meriweather of the Washington Redskins of his two-game suspension, has reduced the discipline to a one-game suspension without pay.

Cottrell is jointly appointed and compensated by the NFL and NFL Players Association to hear and decide appeals for on-field player discipline.

Meriweather was suspended for two games without pay on Monday by NFL vice president of football operations Merton Hanks for repeat violations this season of NFL safety rules prohibiting hits to the head and neck area of defenseless players, including two in Sunday’s Washington-Chicago Bears game.