Marshawn Lynch suspended 1 game for pushing official

The Raiders will be without their veteran running back in Week 8.

The NFL announced a one-game suspension for Marshawn Lynch on Friday night, less than 24 hours after the Oakland Raiders running back was ejected from a game against the Kansas City Chiefs for making contact with an official.

“You made deliberate physical contact with one of our game officials as he was diffusing an active confrontation between players,” NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan wrote in a letter to Lynch announcing the suspension. “You were disqualified for your in appropriate and unsportsmanlike actions. Your conduct included pushing the game official and grabbing his jersey.

“You were not directly involved in the active confrontation that the game official was attempting to diffuse, nor were you a participant in the play that initiated the confrontation. You were the only player from either team who ran from the sideline to midfield to insert himself into a situation in which he was not directly involved.”

Lynch plans to appeal the suspension:

Lynch pushed aside an official to get to Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, who was at the center of a fight between Oakland and Kansas City players. Lynch and Peters are close and the likely explanation for the running back’s actions are that he was also trying to diffuse the situation by getting Peters away from the scrum.

However, forcible contact with an official isn’t going to be excused and earned him a harsh punishment.

Without Lynch, the Raiders went on to beat the Chiefs in a dramatic game that featured a game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock. Lynch watched the game from the stands and rode a BART train with fans back home.

What does this mean for the Raiders? Lynch will appeal the suspension, but assuming he is out in Week 8, Oakland will have to attempt to find offense without him against the Buffalo Bills.

The Raiders pass much more often than run, and Lynch has averaged just 38 yards per game. His backup, Jalen Richard, will presumably take over the starting role and split carries with DeAndre Washington.

Richard has averaged 4.5 yards per carry compared to 3.7 for Lynch, but it’s a blow for an Oakland offense that hasn’t been its explosive self for much of 2017. The Bills defense is No. 1 in points allowed with an average of fewer than 15 points given up per game.

What does this mean for Lynch? In addition to the forfeiture of one game check, which probably comes out to more than $80,000, he’ll also forfeit a per game active bonus of $31,250.

Lynch is known for saving his money made through the NFL, so it likely won’t bother him too much. But his inactiveness at running back and suspension may jeopardize his chances at seeing the second year of the two-year, $9 million deal he signed with the Raiders in the offseason.

It’s due to pay him $6 million in total salary and bonuses, but the Raiders could cut him and save that $6 million with zero cap ramifications. Beast Mode will need to look more like his former self and stay out of further conflicts if he hopes to stick with the Raiders beyond 2017.