Bills' Franklin wins appeal, suspension for spitting reduced to fine

Buffalo Bills safety and special teams captain Sam Franklin Jr. has won his appeal, with the NFL reducing his one-game suspension for an alleged spitting incident to a $14,926 fine.

The league announced Wednesday that Franklin would be suspended without pay for one game after he was accused of spitting at an opponent during a fourth-quarter extra point in the Bills' Week 6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. Franklin denied the allegation and quickly appealed.

Unlike teammate C.J. Gardner-Johnson — who was suspended for a high-profile spitting incident in the same game and disqualified before halftime after a referee said he saw him spit toward Raiders tight end Brock Bowers — Franklin was neither penalized nor ejected in the game, and no replay of the extra point appeared to show him spitting, according to ESPN.

Gardner-Johnson's one-game suspension was upheld on appeal.

In a social media post, Franklin said he would always do what it takes to defend himself but would never spit at an opponent.

Franklin, in his second year with the Bills and seventh NFL season, has logged six tackles this season. The Bills are on their bye week and return for a Week 8 game against Baltimore (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).