Three Suspended Players From Steelers-Browns Brawl Appealing Punishment

The NFL has suspended three players for their roles in Thursday’s brawl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, but all three are expected to appeal the decisions. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported that Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, and Maurkice Pouncey will be meeting with jointly-appointed appeals officers Derrick Brooks and James Thrash this week. NFL sources have told Schefter that these appeals should happen no later than Wednesday.

Thrash and Brooks are expected to divvy up the cases in order to expedite the process. They will also make decisions about any potential reductions in time prior to Week 12 in order to determine whether or not the two teams will have their players available.

While Garrett will have the most difficult path back to the starting lineup, both Ogunjobi and Pouncey could see a return earlier than expected. Ogunjobi is scheduled to miss one game for shoving Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph in the back and knocking him to the ground. Pouncey is slated to miss three for punching and kicking Garrett in response to his hit on Rudolph.

Both appeals officers have shown a willingness to reduce punishments handed down by the NFL during past appeals. In 2017, Brooks changed former Raiders wide receiver Michael Crabtree’s suspension from two games to one. He also reduced Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan’s suspension from two games to one the same year.

Thrash, on the other hand, reduced former Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib’s suspension from two games to one in 2017. He did the same for then-Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict the same year, reducing his five-game suspension down to three.

Whether this willingness to reduce punishments holds true with both Ogunjobi and Pouncey remains to be seen. Although they will have an easier path back to the field than Garrett.

The Browns defender who clubbed Mason Rudolph over the head with his own helmet is currently suspended for the remainder of the 2019 season, including the playoffs. He will also have to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell prior to being reinstated in 2020.

Technically, Garrett is suspended indefinitely, but he will argue that this punishment can not actually be handed down based on the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. As NFL insider Ian Rapoport explained on Sunday morning, the CBA does not allow for indefinite suspensions for on-field acts, which would apply to Garrett’s case. The Browns defender will hope to receive a finite number of games that he will miss, along with a reduction in the sentence.

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