FRISCO, Texas – Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill’s initial two-game suspension has been reduced to one-game by NFL appeals officer Derrick Brooks on Tuesday night.
Hill will miss Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Saints. The NFL announced on Monday that Hill would be suspended two games for punching Las Vegas Raiders guard John Simpson following the team’s overtime loss on Thanksgiving Day. He will be eligible to return in Week 14, as the Cowboys take on the Washington Football Team on Dec. 12.
Hill’s suspension was issued by NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan on grounds of “unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct.”
In a letter to Hill, Runyan wrote “you engaged in conduct that this office considers unnecessary roughness and displays a lack of sportsmanship. Specifically, as both teams were shaking hands, you waited more than 50 seconds for your opponent at the 50-yard line. When you located him, you then walked toward him in the opposite direction of your locker room. You both engaged in a verbal chest-to-chest confrontation which you escalated by throwing an open hand punch to the facemask, forcible enough to cause your opponent’s helmet to come off.”
Head coach Mike McCarthy has not had the opportunity to speak with Hill in person after entering COVID protocols but noted, “He’s acknowledged the fact that what he did was not right. We’ll deal with that and move ahead accordingly.”
Hill began the season on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) due to a knee injury but has played in the last three games. The third-year tackle has posted eight tackles and four quarterback pressures.
