Bills won’t have Lynch for first 3 games
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch for the first three games of the 2009 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Lynch has had two off-field issues in the past year. Last May, he committed a hit-and-run May 31 in Buffalo. And police in Culver City, Calif., found him in a car with marijuana and a concealed 9mm semiautomatic handgun on Feb. 11.
Goodell did not discipline Lynch for the traffic violation after meeting with him at training camp last summer. Lynch pleaded guilty on March 5 to a misdemeanor charge of having a firearm in a vehicle in Los Angeles County Superior Court. He was sentenced to 80 hours of community service and three years of probation.
But Lynch can appeal the suspension and Goodell did lower the penalty for Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall last year when he appealed. Lynch will lose approximately $112,000 of his $635,000 base salary for 2009 during the suspension.
But what futures bettors on WagerWeb.com and Bills fans want to know is how this affects the team on the field. The 2009 NFL schedule has not yet been released (will be soon), but it is known the Bills open the season on Monday night against the New England Patriots.
And in such a deep division as the AFC East, the Bills need to get off to a good start. They did so last year, beginning 5-1, but missed the playoffs mainly because they went 0-6 against the division. Of course Buffalo also added Terrell Owens this offseason.
Lynch had eight touchdowns and rushed for 1,036 yards last season, reaching his first Pro Bowl in his second season, albeit as an injury replacement. Fred Jackson would be expected to start with Lynch out, but he has skipped the team’s offseason conditioning program because he is upset with his contract. He was tendered a one-year, $460K deal as an exclusive rights free agent in February, but wants a multi-year contract. His bargaining power just got better.
Jackson started one game last year, the regular-season finale against, ironically, New England. He rushed for 136 yards on 27 carries. He’s also an excellent receiver out of the backfield.
The Bills probably weren’t going to beat the Pats even with Lynch, being as New England has owned Buffalo for the past several years. But Lynch’s absence certainly will be felt the following two weeks and could cost Buffalo on its over/under win total, which will be released on WagerWeb.com soon.
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