Blotter Week Seven Part One: Merriweather WILL be suspended...

Well, the hearing most of people rooted in reality dreaded happened today.

And, shock of all shocks:

• Washington Redskins:  Brandon Merriweather has become the second player to be suspended under the NFL's Player Safety policy for illegal dirty on-field conduct.

Ted Cottrell, a former coach now with the NFL for this purpose heard Merriweather's appeal (and not Matt Birk).

Merriweather's suspension was halved to one game.  The one game will cost Merriweather about $70,500.

I did finally check on something...

The NFL does take some money from the team if multiple players are suspended.

Tanard Jackson is suspended (in fact, BANNED) from the league for Strike Three on the Drug Policy.  Under the rule, if two players from the same team are suspended, the league gets 25% of the money.

Hence, the Redskins must forfeit $17,625.

It's far worse for the Redskins, though.

They started the year with not only Jackson banned, but two other players suspended.  Rob Jackson and Jarvis Jenkins.  Three suspensions means it's 25% of the second, and 33% of the third.  Each suspension was for four games, and, according to Spotrac:

25% of Jackson's $168,235 ($42,059)
and 35% of Jenkins' $167,009 ($58,452)

Now I have to check to see if that applies to the cumulative fine policy.

Since the Merriweather suspension is for Player Safety, the $17,625 DOES COUNT against the minimums -- the $100,000 noted above is Drug Policy, and, hence, does not.

(Nor does about $28,250 against the Ravens (Asa Jackson's 8-gamer on top of Christian Thompson's 4), nor the Rams' about $8,500 for two conduct one-gamers, nor Indianapolis' almost $33,000 for an 8-gamer for Weslye Saunders on top of  LaVon Brazil's 4-gamer.  All for drugs.)

The funny (or not-so-funny) thing is:  Merriweather loses probably less money by being suspended than if he was fined.  Any fine, at this juncture, could easily have been $200,000 or so.