Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf made headlines in the midst of the Steelers' win over the Detroit Lions in Week 16, and not for his performance on the field.
The Pro Bowl wideout got into a confrontation with a fan that ended with him grabbing and taking a swipe him. In result, the NFL suspended Metcalf for the final two games of the regular season. Metcalf appealed the suspension, but the NFL upheld the ruling.
“NFL upheld DK Metcalf’s two-game suspension,” Adam Schefter reports. “He now will miss Pittsburgh’s final two regular-season games at Cleveland and against Baltimore. Metcalf now loses $555,556 in salary and has the guarantees on $45 million voided.”
The interesting layer to this is that Metcalf's suspension was upheld by former Cleveland Browns head coach Chris Palmer, per Mike Florio.
"That determination bypassed the usual hearing-officer process and delegated the appeal to the Commissioner or his designee," Florio reports. "Former NFL coach Chris Palmer reportedly handled it. If the initial two-game punishment was imposed with the Commissioner’s knowledge or consent (surely, they ran it by him), why would he change his mind one day later?"
"And so Metcalf will miss Week 17 at Cleveland and Week 18 vs. Baltimore. He’ll lose $555,555 in base salary, with the Steelers also able (if they choose) to recover $1.5 million in signing bonus money and to void $25 million in fully guaranteed pay for 2026, along with $20 million in injury guarantees in 2027."
Palmer coached the Browns in the first two seasons of their return to the NFL from 1999-2000. He was hired after a successful stint as the Jacksonville Jaguars' offensive coordinator. His most recent role on the coaching staff was with the Buffalo Bills as a senior offensive assistant from 2015-16.
The Browns will play the Steelers sans Metcalf in Week 17 in Cleveland. The Browns have won the last three games against Pittsburgh at home, and are hoping to play spoiler to Pittsburgh potentially clinching the AFC North.
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