On Friday, Bengals running back Cedric Benson presented to an outside arbitrator a grievance regarding his one-game suspension (plus one-game fine) for violation of the league’s personal conduct policy during the lockout. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the grievance has been rejected.
Benson didn’t expect to play on Sunday, even if he prevailed. It’s somewhat surprising that the ruling came as quickly as it did.
He’ll be eligible to rejoin the team on Monday. A separate unfair labor practice charge against the NFLPA filed with the National Labor Relations Board is still pending; if successful, Benson possibly could recover the lost wages from his suspension and fine directly from the union.
We’ll have more on some of the developments from the hearing, specifically as it relates to the much-disputed August 4 letter agreement between the NFL and NFLPA, later tonight.