All four players in the New Orleans Saints bounty case have filed appeals with the NFL, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com & NFL Network citing sources close to the players, in advance of Friday’s deadline to do so.
The appeals fall under the collective bargaining agreement process and follow Commissioner Roger Goodell’s re-issuing of sanctions on Tuesday.
Under Tuesday’s decision by the Commissioner, Jonathan Vilma’s season-long suspension and Will Smith’s four-game suspension were unchanged. However, Vilma would retain his salary for the six weeks he spent on the Physically Unable to Perform list. Scott Fujita’s suspension was reduced from three games to one game. Anthony Hargrove’s suspension was reduced from eight games to seven games. Hargrove would be credited for five games missed while a free agent, and would serve a two-game suspension once he is signed by an NFL team.
Earlier today it was reported that New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma filed an appeal of his year-long suspension, claiming that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell should recuse himself on the basis of bias and partiality. His appeal reportedly is a bit different in that he has asked that the commissioner recuse himself from the appeals process.
The appeals serves as a stopgap in the enforcement of the suspensions.
