NFL reduces punishment Bills DB Sam Franklin Jr. received for allegedly spitting, changes 1-game suspension to fine

One of the two Buffalo Bills defensive backs who were handed one-game suspensions by the NFL for spitting during last week's win over the Las Vegas Raiders will no longer be prohibited from playing in the Bills' next game.

Whereas C.J. Gardner-Johnson will still be out for a Nov. 1 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens , fellow Buffalo safety Sam Franklin Jr. — a special teams captain — saw his punishment for allegedly spitting on a Raiders player reduced on Friday from a single-game ban to a $14,926 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The change was made by hearing officer James Thrash , who was jointly appointed by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.

On Wednesday, when the league announced Franklin's suspension , Franklin denied the alleged incident ever happened and wound up appealing.

In the NFL's release revealing Franklin's suspension earlier this week, the league pointed to the aftermath of a Raiders extra point with less than two minutes left in the game.

That Wednesday memo from the league read: "With 1:32 remaining in the fourth quarter following Las Vegas' successful extra-point attempt, Franklin Jr. spit at an opponent, violating Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to 'any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship.'"

According to a Wednesday report from ESPN , Franklin posted a slow-motion replay of that PAT to his Instagram stories hours after the suspension was announced. He reportedly supplied the caption, "Not a dirty play what so ever! Will always defend myself though. Still won't spit on anyone."

At the bottom of the clip, per ESPN, Franklin added the hashtag "#notthemcnuggets," indicating that he took a shot below the belt on the play.

Notably, Franklin wasn't penalized in the moment, unlike Gardner-Johnson, who was flagged and ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct after he spit toward Raiders tight end Brock Bowers late in the first half.

In a statement Friday, Franklin's agents, Harold C. Lewis and Christian Addison, said, "Sam did not and would never spit at an opponent, and there was no evidence that he did," via NFL insider Tom Pelissero of The Ringer and Netflix .

The statement continued: "We're glad the suspension was overturned and grateful to the hearing officer for a fair and thorough review. It's unfortunate the league suspended Sam in the first place based on an unsupported accusation that received so much undeserved attention, and we hope the outcome is covered just as widely. We also hope the league takes a serious look at the opposing player's conduct, including striking Sam in the groin twice during the game. We're glad this is behind him, so Sam can get back to focusing on his teammates and next Sunday."

Because the Bills are on bye this week, Franklin's suspension wasn't supposed to begin until next Monday. He would have had to sit out the team's Week 8 contest versus the Ravens.

Since Franklin won his appeal, though, the special teamer be available for that matchup. The Temple product is now in his second season with Buffalo and his seventh NFL campaign overall. So far this time around, he's piled up 132 special teams snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Along the way, he's tallied six total tackles.

As for Gardner-Johnson, his suspension was upheld Thursday.